This will affect churches, municipalities, schools, small businesses, creators, and any Facebook user who’s ever uploaded or streamed video over Facebook Live.

Facebook has announced a significant change to its Live video storage policy that will affect millions of users worldwide. Starting March 15th, 2025, Facebook will automatically delete Live videos older than 30 days from pages and profiles. This move has far-reaching implications for individuals, families, churches, and businesses who rely on Facebook Live for sharing moments, streaming services, and promoting products.

  1. Deletion Timeline: Facebook Live videos older than 30 days will be permanently deleted1.
  2. Notification Period: Facebook began notifying users on February 19th, giving them time to download and save their content.
  3. Affected Content: All Facebook Live videos, including those used for personal, religious, and business purposes.

Facebook said in the notification that although the videos will be removed from profiles and pages, owners will have until July 9th to download the videos before they are deleted from Facebook servers.

Facebook will also allow those video owners to request an extension.

It’s a good reminder for all of us that the data and information we’ve uploaded to Facebook may not be hosted on the platform for all of eternity.

It’s imperative for all Facebook users to download their information, photos, contacts, and posts in the event something goes wrong.

how-to-download-facebook00000000Download

To prevent losing valuable content, follow these steps:

  1. Download Individual Videos:
    • Go to your profile or page
    • Click on the “Videos” or “Live” tab
    • Open the video you want to save
    • Click the three-dot menu and select “Download video”
  2. Bulk Download Option:
    • When you receive the deletion notification, choose “Download Live Videos”
    • This will generate a compressed file containing all videos set for removal

It’s not just Live videos at risk. To safeguard all your Facebook content:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Navigate to Privacy and “Accounts Center”
  3. Look for “Your Information and Permissions”
  4. Request a download of your Facebook profile
  5. Select categories you want to save (photos, posts, friends, Live videos, etc.)
  6. Choose your preferred delivery method (device download or cloud transfer)
  7. Select “all time” for the date range if it’s your first backup
  8. Choose JSON format for the download

By downloading all of your Facebook profile as a JSON file, you’ll be able to start a new profile using the download. This could prevent you from a huge headache should your Facebook profile ever get hacked, keeping you from logging in to download photos and posts.

This policy change serves as a crucial reminder that content uploaded to social media platforms isn’t permanently stored. It’s essential to regularly back up your data to prevent loss due to policy changes or account compromises.

While Facebook cites aligning with industry standards as the reason for this change, there are likely cost considerations at play. Reports suggest that Facebook spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on live video storage.

The clock is ticking. Take action now to preserve your cherished memories and valuable content before they disappear forever.