Facebook announcement Tuesday, live videos will now be stored only on the social network for 30 days, after which they will be deleted. Previously, these videos were stored indefinitely. The change comes into force on Wednesday.
All live videos that are currently 30 days will be deleted from the platform as part of this change. Before the videos are deleted, users will receive a notification and receive 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 the content to new coil.
In a blog post, Facebook declares that “these changes will line up our storage policies on industry standards and help to make sure that we offer the most recent live video experiences for everyone on Facebook.” No other explanation has been proposed. (Techcrunch contacted comments but an answer was not immediately available.)
Twitch, which is one of the biggest competitors of Facebook Live, stores past programs for 60 days for Twitch Partners, Affiliates and Prime Streamers. For regular streamers, the platform stores live videos for 14 days. YouTube, which is another popular house for live videos, stores broadcasting indefinitely by converting them into regular videos (unless a user has chosen to deactivate archiving).
Facebook notes that if users need more time to download their old live videos, they can choose to delete the deletion for six months. If they do not make a choice after this period, their old live videos will be deleted and they will not be able to access it.
The social network is launching new download tools to help users keep their old videos live.
Users can download their old live videos by selecting the “Download live videos” option in the notification they receive about the future deletion. Or, they can click on the “Transfer live videos” option, then choose their linked cloud storage supplier, such as Dropbox or Google Drive.
Facebook uses change as a way to push more rolls more, as it notes that users have the possibility of converting some of their favorite moments of their live videos to keep them on their page.
