You uploaded it. Maybe it was a late-night rant that felt profound at 2 AM but looks like a disaster at 8 AM. Or maybe it’s an old video of an ex that just popped up in your "Memories" and ruined your coffee. Whatever the reason, you’re staring at your phone wondering how can I delete a video from Facebook before someone else shares it. It’s a common panic.
Facebook's interface changes constantly. Seriously, Meta moves buttons around like they’re playing a game of shell-game with your privacy settings. One day the "Delete" button is under a three-dot menu; the next, it’s buried in a Creator Studio dashboard that you didn’t even know you had.
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Let’s get one thing straight: deleting isn't always "deleting." If someone downloaded your video or recorded their screen, that's out of your hands. But for the stuff living on your profile, your timeline, or your business page, you still have the "kill switch." You just need to know where Meta hid it this week.
The quick path to deleting your Facebook videos
If you are on your phone, you probably want this gone now. Open the app. Go to your profile. You’ll see a button that says Videos right under your profile picture and basic info (near the "Photos" and "Reels" buttons). Tap that. This shows you everything you’ve ever uploaded. Find the offending clip and tap it so it goes full screen. Look at the top right. You see those three little dots? Tap those. A menu slides up from the bottom. "Delete Video" is usually sitting there in red or near the bottom. Confirm it. Boom. Done.
But sometimes it’s not that easy. Sometimes the "Delete" option isn't there because you didn't technically upload the video—you were tagged in it. Or maybe it’s a Live video that’s currently archiving.
Honestly, the desktop version is way more reliable for bulk cleaning. If you’ve got twenty videos to scrub, don't do it on your thumb. Use a laptop. Head to your profile, click "More" in the menu bar under your cover photo, and select "Videos." When you hover over a video, a pencil icon or three dots will appear. That’s your gateway to the trash bin.
Dealing with the "Managed" content headache
Businesses and "Professional Mode" users have it harder. If you’re using Meta Business Suite, the process of how can I delete a video from Facebook shifts from your personal timeline to a corporate dashboard.
In Business Suite, you have to go to the "Content" tab. It’s a list view. You’ll see every post, reel, and video your page has ever birthed. You check the box next to the video and click the trash can. But here is the kicker: if that video was part of an ad campaign, you can’t just delete the post. You have to stop the ad first. Meta won’t let you delete "active creative." It’s annoying, but it prevents you from accidentally breaking your marketing spend.
I’ve seen people get stuck here for hours. They keep clicking delete and nothing happens. Usually, it's because the video is tied to a "cross-post" agreement with another page. If you shared a video from your business page to your personal page, deleting the original usually kills the shared version, but sometimes a ghost thumbnail remains. It’s glitchy.
What about those Reels?
Reels are the new favorite child of the Meta algorithm. They don't live in the "Videos" tab; they live in the "Reels" tab. This confuses everyone. If you’re looking in your video folder and can't find that cringe-worthy dance you did, check the Reels tab on your profile. The deletion process is the same—three dots, delete—but the location is different.
Also, a weird quirk: if you delete a Reel on Facebook that was "Recommended on Instagram," it might still live on Instagram. Meta claims they sync, but they don't always. You’ve gotta check both. It’s a double-work nightmare that nobody mentions in the help docs.
The "Delete" vs. "Archive" trap
Recently, Facebook started pushing the "Archive" feature. It’s a middle ground. When you hit delete, sometimes it asks if you want to move it to the archive instead.
- Archive: Only you can see it. It stays on Facebook’s servers. It’s reversible.
- Trash: It stays in a "Trash" folder for 30 days. After that, it’s gone for good.
- Delete: If you’re in the old-school interface, it might just vanish instantly.
If you’re trying to hide something from a boss or a spouse, Archive is fine. But if you want the data gone because you're worried about privacy or data leaks, you need to empty the Trash folder manually. Go to your "Activity Log," find "Trash," and hit "Empty." Otherwise, that video is still technically hanging out for a month.
Why won't my video delete?
Sometimes the "Delete Video" button just isn't there. This happens for a few reasons. One: you're not the owner. If your friend tagged you in a video of you falling into a pool, you can "Remove Tag," which hides it from your profile, but the video stays on their profile. You can't delete someone else's content. You have to report it or ask them nicely to take it down.
Two: you're looking at a "Memory." Facebook "Memories" are just pointers to old posts. You have to click through to the original post to find the delete option. You can't delete it from the "On This Day" preview screen.
Three: Server lag. Facebook is massive. Sometimes you hit delete, the screen refreshes, and the video is still there. Don't smash your phone. Give it ten minutes. The CDN (Content Delivery Network) needs time to realize the file is gone and stop serving it to your browser cache.
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Privacy settings as an alternative
Maybe you don't want to delete it. Maybe you just want to hide it. There’s a "Custom" privacy setting that is a lifesaver. Instead of deleting, you can change the audience to "Only Me."
This is the nuclear-lite option. The video stays in your history, all the likes and comments remain intact, but the rest of the world sees nothing. It’s great for videos you might want to show your kids in twenty years but don't want your coworkers seeing today. To do this, hit the three dots and look for "Edit Audience" or "Edit Privacy."
Actionable steps to clean up your Facebook video history
If you’re serious about a digital footprint scrub, don't just delete one video and call it a day.
- Check your Activity Log. This is the "God view" of your account. It lists every single thing you've ever done. Filter by "Videos you've uploaded." It’s much faster than scrolling through a timeline.
- Verify the Trash. If you are on a privacy kick, navigate to Activity Log > Trash and manually delete everything. Meta’s 30-day grace period is a safety net you might not want.
- Audit your tagged videos. Use the "Activity Log" to see "Videos You're Tagged In." You can't delete these, but you can bulk-remove tags. This disconnects your name from the video so it doesn't show up in searches for you.
- Check the "Watch" history. This doesn't delete videos from the platform, but it clears your "Videos Watched" list. If you're worried about someone seeing what you've been viewing, go to Activity Log > Logged Actions and Activity > Videos You've Watched. Clear that list.
Facebook makes it easy to add content but slightly annoying to remove it. It’s by design. The more content they have, the more data they own. But at the end of the day, you own the "Delete" button. Use it.
If the video is still there after you’ve tried everything, log out and log back in. Sometimes the app just needs a nudge to realize the data is gone. If it's a legal or safety issue (like revenge porn or unauthorized filming), don't just delete—report it to Facebook's dedicated safety teams through the "Report Post" tool. They can often scrub it from the entire platform, including other people's shares, which a simple delete doesn't do.