Facebook now only stores live videos for 30 days, will delete old broadcasts

Facebook announced on Tuesday that live videos will now only be stored on the social network for 30 days, after which they will be deleted. Previously, these videos were stored indefinitely. The change goes into effect on Wednesday.

All live videos that are currently older than 30 days will be removed from the platform as part of this change. Before videos are deleted, users will receive a notification and be given 90 days to choose what to do with their old live content. Users can choose to download the videos to their device, transfer them to their cloud storage, or convert content into a new reel.

In a blog post, Facebook states that “these changes will align our storage policies with industry standards and help ensure we are providing the most up-to-date live video experiences for everyone on Facebook.” No further explanation was offered. (TechCrunch reached out for comment but a response was not immediately available.)

Twitch, which is one of Facebook Live’s biggest competitors, stores past broadcasts for 60 days for Twitch Partners, Affiliates, and Prime streamers. For regular streamers, the platform stores past live videos for 14 days. YouTube, which is another popular home for live videos, stores broadcasts indefinitely by converting them into regular videos (unless a user has chosen to disable archiving).

Facebook notes that if users need more time to download their old live videos, they can choose to defer deletion for six months. If they don’t make a choice after that period, their old live videos will be removed and they won’t be able to access them.

The social network is launching new download tools to help users keep their old live videos.

Users can bulk download their old live videos by selecting the “Download live videos” option in the notification they receive about the upcoming deletion. Or they can click the “Transfer live videos” option and then choose their linked cloud storage provider, such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

Facebook is using the change as a way to further push Reels, as it notes that users have the option to convert some of their favorite moments from their live videos into Reels in order to keep them on their page.