How to View Old Facebook Live Videos
On Facebook the broadcast and its replay are the same post with the same counter. That's why the number keeps rising after you end the stream, and why the peak you had on air is a different figure altogether.
To view old Facebook Live videos, go to the Page or profile that streamed them and open its videos, where past broadcasts are listed with the rest of its video, often under a Live tab. The replay plays in the same post the broadcast used, with the same comments and reactions. On your own account, you can also find Lives you watched in your activity log, under videos you've watched.
There's a time limit now. Since February 2025, Facebook keeps new live broadcasts available to replay, download or share for 30 days, and then removes them automatically. Older archives were put on the same path, with notice to owners and time to download, transfer or convert them first. So if you're looking for a Live from months ago and it's gone, the likeliest explanation isn't that it was deleted by hand. The owner didn't save or convert it before the 30 days ran out.
The replay isn't a copy of the broadcast. It's the same post. When a Facebook Live ends, the video stays where it was published, and everything attached to it stays too: the comments people left during the stream, the reactions, and the view count. Anyone who opens it afterward watches the recording in that same post, and their view adds to the same counter.
That's why the count on a Facebook Live keeps climbing after you've ended the stream. The broadcast might have had a modest audience on air, and the post goes on collecting replays for days while it's shared and recommended. The number people see under the video blends both audiences. Meanwhile, the figure that describes the live moment itself, the peak of people watching at the same time, is fixed the moment the broadcast ends. Facebook reports it separately in the video's insights as peak live viewers.
So a Live has two different audience numbers, one closed and one open, on the same post. The on-air figure is what Facebook live stream views are about: the watching count beside the stream while it's running, which is what a person scrolling past reads to decide whether the broadcast is worth joining.
How do you view old Facebook Live videos?
On a Page, open the Page and go to its videos. Pages that stream regularly usually show past broadcasts under a Live section there. On a personal profile, open the profile and look under videos, or scroll the timeline to the date of the broadcast. The replay opens in the original post.
On your own account, the activity log keeps a list of videos you've watched while signed in. Open your profile, go to the activity log, and look for videos you've watched. It's sorted by date, and you can clear it from the same screen. Nobody else can see that watch history.
If you can't find a Live at all, check three things. It may be older than 30 days and removed under the storage policy. The owner may have converted it to a reel, which lives in their reels rather than in their Lives. Or its audience may have been limited, such as a broadcast shared only with friends or inside a group you're not in.
How do you watch live videos on Facebook right now?
Facebook's video tab surfaces live broadcasts from Pages, creators and people you follow, and a Live from someone you follow can show up in your feed with a live badge while it's running. You'll also get notifications for some broadcasts from Pages you follow, depending on your notification settings.
Why do Facebook Live videos disappear after 30 days?
Because Facebook changed how long it stores them. Under the storage policy it announced in February 2025, new live broadcasts can be replayed, downloaded or shared for 30 days, then they're removed. Before that, Lives stayed on Facebook indefinitely. For older archives, Facebook said it would notify owners by email and in the app, and give them a window to act before removal, with an option to defer deletion for a period if they needed more time.
For creators, the options are to download the video, transfer it to cloud storage, or convert it into a reel so it stays on Facebook in a different form. For viewers, the practical consequence is simple: if you want to rewatch a Live, don't wait months to look for it.
How do you keep a Facebook Live from being deleted?
Save it before the 30 days are up. Facebook offers a download of the full video and tools to move it to cloud storage. Converting highlights into a reel keeps that part on Facebook. If you run a Page that streams often, make downloading part of your routine after every broadcast, rather than relying on the notice.
Why does a Facebook Live's view count keep rising after it ends?
Because replays add to the same counter as live views. Someone who watched for a few minutes on air and someone who opened the recording three days later both count. As long as the post keeps getting shared, recommended or found on your Page, the number keeps climbing, until the replay is removed or converted.
This is also why comparing a Facebook Live's view count with the count on another platform's stream is misleading. Twitch keeps three separate audience numbers for a stream and puts the replay in a different place altogether. Facebook folds the live audience and the replay audience into one public number on one post.
What is peak live viewers on Facebook?
It's the highest number of people watching the broadcast at the same moment while it was live. Facebook reports it in the video's insights, and it stops changing when the broadcast ends. It's the fairest figure for comparing one live session with another, because replays can't inflate it.
What counts as a view on a Facebook video?
Facebook reports several view metrics, including views and three-second views, and its definitions have shifted as Meta moved its dashboards toward views as the headline figure. For a Live, the important point is that live and replay viewing land in the same post's totals, while peak live viewers covers only the live moment.
Can you see who watched your Facebook Live?
Only the people who show themselves. Anyone who comments or reacts during the broadcast or on the replay is visible on the post, and depending on the tool you stream from, you may see some viewer names while you're on air. After the stream, insights give you counts, peak viewers, minutes viewed and audience breakdowns, not a list of names. The same limit applies to regular videos, as who viewed your Facebook video explains.
That means the replay audience is mostly anonymous. You'll see the counter rise, and you'll see comments from replay viewers if they leave any, but not a list of who opened the recording.
Which number matters for a Facebook Live: live views or replays?
They answer different questions. The live audience decides how the broadcast feels while it's running: comments to answer, questions to take, a chat that looks alive to someone who drops in. The peak figure is the one to track across sessions. The replay audience decides how far the content travels afterward, and it's where most of the total view count on many Lives comes from.
So judge a Live on both. A small live audience with strong replays means the content is good but the timing or the promotion before the stream could improve. A large live audience with weak replays means people came for the moment, not the recording, which is fine for events and Q&As. Some broadcasters work on the on-air number directly, since the watching count beside a stream is the first thing a person scrolling past reads; that's the job of live stream views. The replay side behaves like any other video, and Facebook video views cover the count on a regular video post. Remember that the replay itself now has a 30-day life, so if you convert a Live to a reel, treat the reel as its own post with its own numbers.
Facebook Live replay questions people ask
How long do Facebook Live replays stay up?
Under the policy Facebook announced in February 2025, new live broadcasts are available to replay, download or share for 30 days, then removed automatically, unless the owner saved or converted them.
Do replay views count toward a Facebook Live's view count?
Yes. The replay is the same post as the broadcast, so people who open the recording later add to the same view count as people who watched live.
Why is my peak live viewers so much lower than my total views?
Peak live viewers counts the most people watching at one moment on air. Total views add everyone who watched at any point, including replays, so it's almost always much larger.
Can I find a Facebook Live I watched months ago?
Check your activity log under videos you've watched. If the broadcast is older than 30 days and the owner didn't save or convert it, the replay may no longer be on Facebook.
Does converting a Live to a reel keep the comments?
A reel is a different format with its own post. Expect the reel to start its own history rather than carrying every part of the original broadcast post, and download the full Live if the whole session matters.
Keep reading
- Facebook live stream views — The watching count beside a broadcast while it's on air, the figure the replay can't change.
- Can you see who viewed your Facebook video — Why videos give you counts and not a list of names.
- Live vs average vs unique viewers on Twitch — How another platform splits a stream's audience into three numbers instead of one.