Meta to Delete Facebook Live Videos After 30 Days – What Churches Need to Know

In a recent announcement, Meta (the company that owns Facebook) revealed a significant change for Facebook Live streams: starting February 19, 2025, all Facebook Live videos will be automatically deleted 30 days after the stream ends. Once deleted, these videos will no longer be accessible on Facebook’s platform—not even Meta will retain them. This marks a departure from the previous assumption that live streams could remain permanently available, and it’s set to impact countless users, including churches that rely on Facebook to share messages and preserve their church’s history.

For churches and their congregations, this means **that ALL past messages will be permanently deleted unless proactive steps are taken. Without backups, years of messages (and consequently, your church’s history) could be lost forever.** Fortunately, Meta is offering a grace period, and there are solutions to preserve your messages.

Many churches have used Facebook Live as an accessible, cost-effective way to reach members and archive their services. With this storage change, relying solely on Facebook is no longer an option. If your church doesn’t act quickly to download or relocate these messages, you’ll lose access to your historical messages after the 30-day window closes and they will be deleted from Facebook’s servers. This isn’t just about losing files—it’s about preserving your church’s history.

Because your live streams will be removed from Facebook, you’ll only have a limited time to collect your messages. Meta is giving users a limited window to save their Facebook Live videos before they’re permanently deleted. You have just 30 days from the end of each stream to download it, though Meta has also provided an option to postpone deletion for up to 6 months from the policy start date (February 19, 2025) to retrieve older streams. Don’t wait—begin gathering your videos as soon as possible.
Need help? Check out Meta’s official instructions for downloading past Facebook Live streams.

Once you’ve downloaded your messages, consider uploading them to a reliable cloud provider or streaming service. For Baptist churches seeking a God-focused solution, Bapcaster is here to serve. Our platform makes it simple to upload and manage your messages, and we’re committed to affordability—pay only what God leads you to contribute, even if that’s nothing. If you’re interested, apply for access to Bapcaster here.
Other options like YouTube, Vimeo, or general cloud storage (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox) can also work, depending on your needs.

We understand this change might feel overwhelming, especially for churches with limited technical resources. That’s why we’re offering our assistance—whether you join Bapcaster or not. Our team is happy to meet with you online and guide you through migrating your church’s messages from Facebook to another platform. No church should lose its history due to this transition, and we’re committed to helping you every step of the way. Reach out to support@bapcaster.com if you’d like assistance.

If your church has already secured its messages on Bapcaster or another service, please share this post with your fellow churches. Awareness is key—many churches may not yet realize the urgency of Meta’s policy change.

God Bless,

Joshua King, Founder

Bapcaster