Answering How Long Can Facebook Story Be

The answer to how long can facebook story be is 24 hours on screen and 60 seconds per Page story video, because Meta's spec lists 3 to 90 seconds but caps a video story at 60 on the same page. Those are two different clocks. One decides how long people can find the story, the other decides how much video fits in it.

Two clocks, not one

24 hours: story visibility

Counts from the moment you share it
Moves to the story archive after, visible only to you
A live broadcast stays up for as long as you're live

60 seconds: video duration

Meta's duration row lists 3 to 90 seconds
The Limitations list caps a video story at 60 seconds
Trim to 60 seconds and the conflict stops mattering

One number decides how long the story stays findable, the other decides how much video fits inside it.

How long does a Facebook story stay up?

A Facebook story stays visible for 24 hours from the moment you share it. Meta's Help Center says it in several places, most plainly in the article on story availability: "Each photo or video you share to your story is available in the Stories section on Facebook and the Messenger app for 24 hours."

After those 24 hours the story leaves the Stories section, and the story archive keeps it if the archive is turned on. Meta states that the archive "will only be visible to you," and that you can "revisit your stories in your story archive." A live broadcast is the one exception Meta lists: "When you go Live, the video will be available in your story for as long as you're live."

Page stories follow the same 24 hours. The Page stories section of the Help Center describes them as a way to "share everyday moments with your Page's followers that will only be visible for 24 hours," and you need to be a Page admin or editor to post one. The 24 hour window is what puts Stories in the ephemeral content category.

How long can a video in a Facebook story be?

Meta's Page Stories API documentation lists a video duration of "3 to 90 seconds," then sets a 60 second cap twice on the same page. The duration row reads "3 to 90 seconds," followed by the note "A reel published as a story on a Facebook Page can not exceed 60 seconds." The Limitations list further down repeats the tighter rule without the reel qualifier: "A video story can not exceed 60 seconds."

The page was updated on July 30, 2026, and it does not reconcile the two numbers. One reading is that 90 seconds is the upload ceiling and 60 seconds is the ceiling for anything shown as a story. Meta does not say that. What the Limitations list says is 60. Cut Page story videos to 60 seconds or less and the conflict stops mattering.

The Help Center articles on personal stories and Page stories give no video duration at all. They cover how to share a photo or video, who can see it, and how long it stays up, and none of them name a maximum clip length for a story made in the Facebook app.

How long does a photo stay on screen in a Facebook story?

Meta does not publish how many seconds a photo shows in a Facebook story before the next one plays. The Help Center covers photo stories in its articles on sharing, audience and archiving, and none of them give an on-screen duration. The API spec for photos lists file types and file size and nothing on display time.

What Meta does document for photos is the upload side:

Property	Meta's specification
Story visibility	24 hours, then the story archive
Video duration	"3 to 90 seconds," with "A video story can not exceed 60 seconds"
Video aspect ratio	9 x 16
Video resolution	1080 x 1920 recommended, minimum 540 x 960
Video frame rate	24 to 60 frames per second
Video file type	.mp4 recommended
Video compression	H.264 or H.265, with VP9 and AV1 also supported
Audio	AAC Low Complexity, stereo, 48kHz, 128kbs or higher
Photo file types	.jpeg, .bmp, .png, .gif, .tiff
Photo file size	10MB maximum, with a 1MB recommendation for .png
Media reuse	Cannot have been used in a previously published post

Why does Facebook reject a story video?

Facebook rejects a Page story video when it breaks one of the rules on Meta's spec page, and three of them catch people who assume a story works like a feed post. The first is reuse: "A photo or video uploaded for a story can not have been used in a previously published post." A clip you already posted to the Page feed cannot be recycled as a story through the API.

The second is resolution. Meta's example error for an undersized file reads "Resolution too low. Video must have a minimum resolution of 540p." A horizontal 1280 x 720 export fails the 540 x 960 minimum in the vertical direction, so render the story as vertical video from the start.

The third applies to hosted files. Meta's upload step accepts a file_url, and the docs state that "The API will now reject files hosted on sites that restrict access via robots.txt." Files hosted on Meta's own CDN, the fbcdn URLs, are rejected too. If a story fails at upload, check the host before you check the video.

Length is a fourth rule, and it is the one this page covers. A 75 second clip sits inside the 3 to 90 second row and outside the 60 second limitation. Do not test which of the two Meta enforces on a client's Page. Trim it.

How do you prepare a video for a Facebook story?

Prepare a Facebook story video by exporting it vertical, short and new. These steps follow Meta's spec page in the order a publish call checks them.

AdaptlyPost

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Edit the clip to between 3 and 60 seconds.
Export at 9 x 16, ideally 1080 x 1920, and never below 540 x 960.
Use H.264 or H.265 in an .mp4 file, at a fixed frame rate between 24 and 60.
Encode audio as AAC Low Complexity in stereo at 48kHz.
Use footage that has not been published in an earlier Page post.
Host the file where facebookexternalhit/1.1 can fetch it, or upload it directly.
Post it knowing it leaves the Stories section after 24 hours.

A story that runs longer than 60 seconds belongs in a different format. Facebook Reels and feed videos have their own specs, and our guide to balancing Facebook Reels, Stories, posts and links covers which format suits which job.

Where AdaptlyPost fits

AdaptlyPost publishes Stories to Facebook Pages, and the length rules above apply to them because the story still goes out through Meta. In the post composer, Story is one of the Facebook post types next to Photo and Video. Over the API, the post to Facebook via API page documents it as facebookConfigs.postType = STORY.

AdaptlyPost's API docs are specific on when that setting takes effect: "postType REEL or STORY is applied only when contentType is VIDEO: an IMAGE payload with postType STORY silently goes out as a normal feed photo." A carousel sent as a Story comes back as a 400. Facebook publishing in AdaptlyPost is Pages only, with no personal profiles and no Groups, and each call names exactly one Page. postType and videoTitle are the only Facebook-specific options the API exposes, so a Page story goes out as the media you send. The 60 second limit is Meta's, so trim the video before it goes in the queue. For planning the rest of the Page schedule, see how to schedule Facebook posts and the Facebook post limit per day.

Frequently asked questions

How long can a Facebook story be?

A Facebook story stays visible for 24 hours. A video in a Page story has a duration row of 3 to 90 seconds in Meta's API spec, and the same page states that a video story cannot exceed 60 seconds. Keep story videos at 60 seconds or shorter.

How long does a Facebook story last before it disappears?

24 hours. Meta's Help Center states that each photo or video you share to your story is available in the Stories section on Facebook and in Messenger for 24 hours. After that, the story archive keeps it where only you can see it, as long as the archive is turned on.

Can a Facebook story video be 90 seconds long?

Meta's Page Stories spec lists "3 to 90 seconds" as the duration, then states in its Limitations list that "A video story can not exceed 60 seconds." The page does not explain the difference. Treat 60 seconds as the limit for a Page story video.

How long does a photo show in a Facebook story?

Meta does not publish an on-screen duration for photos in a Facebook story. The Page Stories API spec covers photo file types and the 10MB file size limit, the Help Center covers the 24 hour visibility window, and neither gives a number of seconds per photo.

Can I reuse a feed video as a Facebook Page story?

Not through the Page Stories API. Meta's Limitations list states that a photo or video uploaded for a story cannot have been used in a previously published post. Export a fresh file for the story.

Can AdaptlyPost schedule Facebook Stories?

Yes, for Facebook Pages. Story is a Facebook post type in the AdaptlyPost composer, and over the API facebookConfigs.postType = STORY applies when the content type is VIDEO. An IMAGE payload marked STORY goes out as a feed photo, and personal profiles and Groups are not supported.

Who can publish a Facebook Page story?

Meta's Help Center on Page stories states that you need to be a Page admin or editor to post one. That role requirement sits alongside the same 24 hour visibility window as personal stories.

What resolution and aspect ratio does a Facebook story video need?

Meta's Page Stories API spec calls for a 9 x 16 vertical video, ideally 1080 x 1920, and never below a minimum of 540 x 960. A horizontal export like 1280 x 720 fails that vertical minimum, which is why Meta's error for an undersized file reads "Resolution too low. Video must have a minimum resolution of 540p." Render the story vertical from the start instead of cropping a horizontal clip after the fact.

Why would Facebook reject a story video hosted on your own server?

Meta's upload step accepts a file_url, but the docs state that the API will now reject files hosted on sites that restrict access via robots.txt. Files hosted on Meta's own CDN, the fbcdn URLs, are rejected too. Check the host before checking the video if an upload fails.

What happens if AdaptlyPost sends a carousel as a Facebook Story?

It comes back as a 400 error. AdaptlyPost's API docs state that a carousel sent as a Story is rejected, and separately that postType REEL or STORY applies only when contentType is VIDEO, so an IMAGE payload marked STORY goes out as a normal feed photo instead of failing.