You can delete a Facebook Reel from your profile or from the Reel itself

To remove a Reel you posted, open Facebook and find the Reel on your profile or in your feed. Tap or click the three dots in the top right corner of the Reel. Select "Delete" from the menu that appears. Facebook will ask you to confirm — select "Delete" again, and the Reel is gone. The whole process takes about 10 seconds.

Once deleted, the Reel no longer appears on your profile, in your friends' feeds, or in Facebook's Reels section. Anyone who had a direct link to it will see an error page instead. Comments, likes, and shares on that Reel disappear too.

If you cannot find the three-dot menu, make sure you are looking at a Reel you actually posted. You can only delete your own Reels — you cannot delete someone else's Reel from your feed, though you can hide it or report it.

Key Takeaways

  • Find your Reel on your profile or in your feed, tap the three dots, and select Delete to remove it permanently.
  • Deleted Reels disappear from your profile, your friends' feeds, and Facebook search within minutes.
  • You can only delete Reels you posted yourself, not Reels from other people.
  • If you want to keep the video but hide it from your audience, you can change the privacy setting to "Only Me" instead of deleting it.
  • Deleting a Reel does not undo any shares or screenshots people may have already taken.

Delete from your profile versus delete from the Reel itself

Both routes lead to the same result, but the steps are slightly different depending on where you start. If you are scrolling through your profile and see the Reel in your timeline, tap the three dots on the Reel card itself. If you are already watching the Reel in full screen (the way it looks when someone clicks on it), the three-dot menu is still in the top right corner of the screen.

On a phone, the three dots may be harder to spot if the Reel is playing. Tap anywhere on the Reel to pause it, and the menu buttons will appear. On a computer, hover your mouse over the Reel and the three dots should show up in the corner.

What happens to comments and reactions after you delete

All comments, likes, and emoji reactions on the Reel vanish when you delete it. If someone left a comment you wanted to keep, take a screenshot before you delete. Facebook does not save comments separately or let you delete just the Reel while keeping the discussion.

Shares are also removed from view, but people who shared your Reel to their own profiles or to a message may still have a copy of it. Deleting the original does not erase shares that are already out there.

The difference between deleting and hiding a Reel

Deleting removes the Reel entirely. Hiding it keeps the Reel on your account but changes who can see it. If you tap the three dots and select "Edit Privacy" instead of "Delete," you can change the audience to "Only Me." The Reel stays in your profile but no one else can find it.

Hide a Reel if you want to keep it for your own records or if you might want to reshare it later. Delete it if you want it completely gone from Facebook. There is no middle ground — you either delete it or change the privacy setting.

Deleting a Reel does not remove it from other people's devices

If someone downloaded, screenshotted, or screen-recorded your Reel before you deleted it, they still have a copy. Deleting the original from Facebook does not reach into their phone and erase what they saved. This is true for any content you post online — once it is out there, you cannot control every copy.

If a Reel contains something sensitive or private, assume it may have been saved by someone. Deleting it from Facebook is the right move, but it is not a may provide that no copy exists elsewhere.

How long it takes for a deleted Reel to disappear from search and feeds

A deleted Reel usually stops showing up in feeds and search results within a few minutes. Facebook's servers update quickly, but there can be a short lag. If you see your Reel still appearing somewhere after you deleted it, wait a few minutes and refresh the page.

In rare cases, cached versions of the Reel may linger on Google Search or other search engines for days or weeks. You cannot control this directly, but the cache eventually clears on its own. If you need a Reel removed from Google Search urgently, you can request removal through Google Search Console, though that is a more advanced step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo a deleted Reel?

No. Once you confirm the deletion, Facebook does not keep a backup. If you deleted it by mistake, you would have to re-upload the video as a new Reel. Facebook does not have an "undo" button for deleted posts or Reels.

What if I want to delete a Reel but keep the video file?

read or save the video before you delete the Reel. Once the Reel is gone from Facebook, you cannot read it from there anymore. If you have the original file on your phone or computer, you can always re-upload it later if you change your mind.

Can I delete someone else's Reel from my feed?

No, you can only delete Reels you posted yourself. If you do not want to see someone else's Reel, tap the three dots and select "Hide" or "See Less From This Person." You can also report a Reel if it violates Facebook's rules.

Does deleting a Reel affect my account in any way?

Deleting a Reel does not hurt your account or change how Facebook treats you. It straightforward removes that one piece of content. Your follower count, reach on other posts, and account standing are not affected.