Facebook allows users to post stories that disappear after 24 hours. These ephemeral stories provide a way to share temporary updates without cluttering up your profile. But what happens when you delete a Facebook story before the 24 hours is up? Here’s an in-depth look at what happens behind the scenes when you delete a Facebook story.
Where do Facebook stories go when you first post them?
When you first post a story on Facebook, it gets stored on Facebook’s servers until it expires or is deleted. Facebook stores all stories on its servers, even if they are only meant to be visible for 24 hours. This allows Facebook to retrieve and display stories as needed during that 24-hour window.
Stories waiting to be displayed are stored in a part of Facebook’s infrastructure called the “Story Bank.” This is a temporary holding place for all unexpired stories. The Story Bank gives Facebook a ready supply of stories to show to you and your friends in the Stories feed.
How does Facebook track story expiration?
Behind the scenes, Facebook’s servers keep track of when each story was posted and when it is supposed to expire. This allows Facebook to automatically remove stories from view once their 24 hours are up.
When you post a new story, Facebook’s systems log the current date and time. It then sets the story to expire exactly 24 hours after that timestamp. Right before the expiration time, Facebook purges the story from the Story Bank so it is no longer displayed to anyone.
What happens immediately when you delete a story?
If you delete a story before its 24-hour window is up, Facebook immediately removes it from the Story Bank. This prevents the story from being viewable to you or anyone else. Essentially, deletion works the same as automatic expiration from the user perspective.
However, there is a key difference happening behind the scenes. Expired stories get completely deleted from Facebook’s servers. Deleted stories undergo a different process, which we’ll explain next.
How Facebook handles deleted stories
When you intentionally delete a story, Facebook does not immediately wipe it from its servers. Instead, it marks the story as “deleted” in its systems. It removes the story from view but keeps it stored on its servers in a deleted items folder.
Facebook retains deleted stories for a period of time before permanently removing them from its servers. This allows the company to:
- Comply with legal data retention requirements
- Gather metrics and analytics about how people use stories
- Allow users a period of time to undelete stories if they change their mind
Why Facebook keeps deleted stories initially
Facebook has both technical and legal reasons for keeping deleted stories stored for a limited period of time rather than deleting them instantly and permanently.
Technical reasons
- Data can be helpful for improving the product. Facebook analyzes usage patterns of stories to improve the UI and machine learning models behind them.
- Immediate and irreversible deletion puts heavy strain on infrastructure. It’s more efficient to do bulk deletes of expired content.
- Allows user recovery in case of accidental deletes. Facebook finds that users often regret deleting content soon after doing so.
Legal reasons
- Data retention laws require keeping user data for a minimum time period.
- Law enforcement may request access to deleted data as part of an investigation.
- Deleted stories may be relevant to ongoing legal disputes or lawsuits.
How long are deleted Facebook stories retained?
Facebook does not publicly share exactly how long it retains deleted stories. However, based on investigative reporting and user experiments, it appears deleted Facebook stories hang around for 1-90 days before final removal.
Here are some of the factors that likely influence the retention period:
- Type of data – Messages may be kept longer than ephemeral stories
- Legal requirements – Some jurisdictions require longer retention than others
- User patterns – If many users undelete stories fast, a longer period may be useful
- Storage costs – At scale, storage costs incentivize deleting unneeded data
While the exact retention period is uncertain, what is clear is that deletion does not instantly and permanently erase stories forever. There is a grace period where deleted stories persist in Facebook’s systems.
When does permanent deletion happen?
Based on the available information, it appears Facebook permanently deletes stories from its servers in a matter of weeks or months after the user deletes them.
There does not seem to be an exact deletion date. More likely, Facebook systems purge deleted stories in batches after they reach a certain expired status. Anywhere from 1-90 days after deletion, a story will be permanently wiped from Facebook’s servers.
Can you recover a deleted Facebook story?
In most cases, no. Unless you delete the story almost immediately, you cannot recover or undelete a Facebook story once it’s been deleted.
Facebook only allows undeleting for a very brief window after initial deletion. If too much time has passed, the content has been marked for permanent removal and cannot be retrieved.
If you did delete a story accidentally and want to undo it, your best bet is to try undeleting immediately. Open your Facebook app, go to the menu, and look for an option to view recently deleted stories. But this will likely only work within minutes of deleting.
Does deleting a story impact privacy?
Deleting a Facebook story does immediately remove it from view, which enhances privacy. However, keep in mind that the story still exists on Facebook’s servers until permanent deletion occurs.
In theory, Facebook employees or hackers could access your deleted stories before final deletion. In practice, this risk seems low given Facebook’s security protections.
Deleting is still advisable if you want to minimize the visibility and impact of embarrassing or problematic stories. Just recognize the limitations.
Can other users still see your deleted story?
No, other users cannot see your Facebook story after you delete it. Deleting removes the story from your profile and prevents it displaying in any users’ feeds.
However, if another user screenshotted or otherwise saved your story before you deleted it, they may still have personal access to that content. Deleting does not delete copies of the story saved by others.
Summarizing how deleted Facebook stories work:
- Stories are stored on Facebook’s servers upon posting
- Expiring stories are automatically deleted after 24 hours
- Deleting a story removes it from view but retains it on servers
- Deleted stories are purged from servers after an unknown time period
- Stories cannot be recovered after more than a few minutes
- Other users cannot see a story after it is deleted
The takeaway
Deleted Facebook stories are not instantly and permanently erased. They remain stored for a period of time before final removal. However, deletion does fully remove the story from view for both you and other users. Overall deleting is still the best option if you want to minimize the impact of an embarrassing or problematic story. Just recognize that true deletion occurs gradually behind the scenes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete stories that friends tagged me in?
Yes, you can delete any story you are tagged in, even if a friend originally posted it. Go to the story, click the three dots menu, and select “Hide from Profile”. This will remove it from your profile and people won’t see it tagged with you anymore. The story will remain visible on your friend’s profile unless they also delete it.
What about stories I’ve shared as messages to friends?
Stories shared via direct message can also be deleted. Open the message thread, long press on the story to select it, and choose delete. This removes it from the message thread. As with other deletions, it will be retained on Facebook’s servers temporarily before permanent removal.
Do deleted stories impact my Stories Archive?
No, deleting stories does not remove them from your private Stories Archive. That is a personal collection only visible to you where stories are preserved after expiring from public view. Deleted stories disappear from public view but remain in your Archive unless you remove them manually.
Can I tell if someone screenshots my story before I delete it?
Unfortunately no. Facebook does not notify users if someone takes a screenshot of a story. So you have no way to know if another user captured your deleted story. The only guarantee is that deleting prevents it from displaying publicly on Facebook.