Facebook Live videos will be deleted after 30 days, what to do?

Facebook has introduced some new changes for its millions of users regarding the live video feature. In fact, live videos will now only be stored for 30 days and will be deleted thereafter. Facebook then made this announcement via a blog post. 

In an official announcement on Facebook's newsroom, Meta said the fact that "live users create will be on the profile/page for 30 days after posting." Meanwhile, during this time, it can be used and said as clips or reels. Users can delete or download it if they want, and so on.

The new development commenced from the date of February 19. Users will receive an email notification as it becomes effective with such changes in the account. Thus, any live videos older than 30 days will be no longer visible, or they will be deleted without notifying any user.

Once notified, the lives can be downloaded or moved to a cloud storage service in 90 days. This can also be asked to extend for 6 months if further time is needed before deletion. 

Moreover, if the account gets tagged "Commemorative," then no media will be deleted from that. All content previously shared will remain visible to friends or family of the deceased person.

👀 Facebook further suggested various ways to preserve their live videos, such as: 

Creating an archive of all the live videos, downloading, and saving them onto a device or cloud storage.

Downloading a live video from the activity log of a page or a profile. Download a live video from Meta Business Suite.

👂Here are the steps given by Facebook for downloading live videos as MP4 files—

Download Live Videos from Profile or Page.

1. Go to your profile using a computer browser. Go. Then go to the page from which you want to download the video.

2. Find the Videos tab on your profile. Find the Live tab on the page. You may need to click the ‘More’ option to see the Live tab.

3. Select the video you want to download.

4. Tap on the Full-Screen View option. Then click on 'Options' and select 'Download Video'. Your video will start downloading automatically. If for some reason it does not download, you may have to refresh the page and try again.

Download Live Video from Meta Business Suite

If your page or profile is under Meta Business Suite, it is possible to download live videos through this procedure. To do this use the steps below:

Here is how you would download a live video:

1. Open Facebook.

2. Hit on the profile picture located at the upper right corner of the page.

3. Click on Professional Board from the menu.

4. Then tap on 'Meta Business Suite' option under the Tools.

5. Go to the Content tab.

6. From Posts and Reels, find the live video you want to download and tap on it.

7. Now click on the three dots icon or Options.

8. Select the 'Download SD' or 'Download HD' option to download the video.

The video should begin downloading on its own now. Refresh the page and try again if the download does not begin.

Download live videos from the activity log

1. Open Facebook.

2. Tap on the profile picture on the top right.

3. Click on 'Settings'.

4. Scroll Down and select Activity Log.

5. Select Live Videos.

6. Find the video that you want to download. 

7. Click on the options next to the video and select Download. This will download live video.

FAQs:

1. Why are my Facebook Live videos disappearing after 30 days?
2. How can I prevent Facebook Live videos from being deleted automatically?
3. Can I download my Facebook Live videos after the broadcast?
4. What tools can I use to save Facebook Live videos automatically?

Answer: #1 This usually happens if the video was shared to a Facebook Story, Group, or if the page settings auto-expire older videos. Facebook may also remove videos from timelines if they violate certain policies or if archiving is not enabled.

Answer: #2 Facebook itself may not offer a permanent storage option for all types of content. The best approach is to manually download and back up your videos or use third-party streaming tools that save the video locally during the broadcast.

Answer: #3 Yes, go to your video, click on the three-dot menu (⋯), and select “Download Video”. Make sure to do this before the 30-day expiration period ends.

Answer: #4 You can use tools like StreamYard, Restream, OBS Studio, or Zoom to record your live streams locally or in the cloud while broadcasting on Facebook.