Facebook Notes: What Happened and What to Use Now
Facebook notes today are status updates of up to 60 characters, shown with your stories and beside your profile picture in Messenger for up to 24 hours. They aren’t the Notes many people remember: the old long-form Notes, for posts with cover photos and headers, was retired, and we found no Meta page saying when.
This guide compares the two, shows how to post a note now, checks whether old notes can be recovered and suggests where long writing can go instead. Other posting formats are in the posting section of our Facebook guide.
What are Facebook notes?
Two features share the name. The current note is a short status, shown where your stories appear and in Messenger for up to 24 hours. The old Notes, redesigned in 2015 according to Meta’s newsroom, was for longer writing you could share with “a small group of friends or everyone on Facebook”.
| Old Facebook Notes | Facebook notes today | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A longer post, with a cover photo, captioned and resized photos, and headers, quotes or bullets (2015 redesign) | A status of up to 60 characters |
| Where it shows | Facebook.com/notes, or by searching “notes” on mobile (2015) | With your stories, and beside your profile picture in Messenger’s Chats list |
| How long it lasts | Meta’s 2015 post sets no time limit | Up to 24 hours, then it’s no longer visible |
| Where you write it | On the web; “fully viewable on mobile” | Facebook and Messenger apps for iPhone, iPad and Android |
| Status | Retired; no date from Meta | Current, but it “may not be available in your location” |
Checked against About Meta newsroom: Updates for Facebook Notes (2015-09-25).
Checked against Facebook Help Center: Create, replace or delete a note on Facebook.
Facebook notes today: 60-character updates
A note is a status of up to 60 characters, shared from the Facebook or Messenger app. It appears in the same places as your Facebook story and next to your profile picture in Messenger. A note created on Facebook expires after 24 hours and can be deleted at any time, and you can share only one note at a time. Meta says the feature may not be available in your location.
In the Facebook app, Meta’s steps are:
On iPhone:
- Tap Menu in the top left of Facebook.
- Tap your name to go to your profile.
- At the top of your profile photo, tap Note...
- Tap Share a thought... to enter a note of up to 60 characters.
- If you want to change who can see your note, tap Change at the bottom. Select who you want your note to be visible to, then tap Save.
- Tap Share.
Checked against Facebook Help Center: Create, replace or delete a note on Facebook.
Meta’s Android version of the article gives the same route (checked 2 October 2026); notes aren’t available on a computer. You can show a note to Public, Friends and connections, Friends or Custom, and only you can see who replied.
How to post a note in Messenger
Messenger has its own route, the same on iPhone and Android:
- From Chats, tap Post a note by your profile picture.
- Tap Share a thought… and type up to 60 characters.
- To change who sees it or how long it shows, tap Change, choose, then tap Save.
- Tap Share.
Source: Meta’s Create or delete a note on Messenger, checked 2 October 2026. It isn’t available on computers, and replies to a note arrive as a chat between the two of you.
What happened to the old Facebook Notes?
We found no Meta page that says when or why long-form Notes was retired. The last first-party record we found is Meta’s 25 September 2015 newsroom post announcing a redesign that let you add a cover photo, caption and resize photos, and format text into headers, quotes or bullets. Without a Meta source, we don’t repeat the October 2020 date that third-party blogs give.
Checked against About Meta newsroom (no retirement notice found).Not verified
Neither is Community Notes, a separate program for adding context to posts, which Meta began testing in the US on 18 March 2025 (Meta’s announcement, checked 2 October 2026).
Can you still find old Facebook Notes?
Not through any route Meta documents for Notes. The official way to get a copy of your Facebook information is Export your information (older guides call it Download Your Information), which Meta says includes “content and info you’ve shared”. But Meta’s list of export categories doesn’t mention Notes, and it warns that because it keeps different information for different periods, “you may not find all information from the time you joined Facebook.”
On a computer, Meta’s route is your profile picture > Settings & privacy > Settings > Meta Account > Your information and permissions > Export your information > Create export, then follow the prompts. Some accounts see Accounts Center instead of Meta Account settings. Once the export is ready, you have 4 days to download it. Sources: Meta’s Export a copy of your Facebook information and its list of export categories, both checked 2 October 2026.
Use Meta’s export rather than third-party “Notes recovery” tools.
What to use for long posts instead
A regular Facebook post, or an article on your own website. We found no Meta page naming a replacement for long-form Notes, so the closest options are a long text post on your profile or Page, or a blog post on a site you control, shared on Facebook as a link. Meta’s steps for a profile post, on a computer:
On a computer:
- From the top of your Feed, click What's on your mind, [Name]?
- Add a text update or click the type of post you'd like to share (example: Photo/Video, Feeling/Activity).
- You can also add a photo or video, check in, tag people, add feeling/activity, or choose another option (example: a GIF or a Live Video).
- Click the audience selector at the top (example: Public) to select who you'd like to share your post to.
- Click Post.
Checked against Facebook Help Center: Share and Manage Posts on Your Profile.
Want more than text? In the Facebook app, though not on a computer, you can add a song to a text post: see how to add music to a Facebook post. Checked against Facebook Help Center: Add music to your text post on Facebook For Pages and the apps, how to make a post on Facebook covers posting in full, and 40 Facebook post ideas helps when you’re stuck for a topic.
Writing long posts for a business Page? Outfeed AI drafts them with you in one chat and publishes them to Facebook Pages only, never personal profiles, so notes and profile posts stay on Facebook itself.
Draft your next long Page post in Outfeed AI
FAQ
What happened to Facebook Notes?
The old long-form Notes, Facebook’s tool for longer posts with cover photos and headers, was retired, and we found no Meta page saying when or why; the October 2020 date often quoted comes from third-party blogs. Today a Facebook note is a status of up to 60 characters.
How do I find my old Facebook Notes?
Meta doesn’t document a way. Its official route to a copy of your Facebook information is Export your information, in Accounts Center or Meta Account settings, but Meta’s list of export categories doesn’t name Notes, and Meta says you may not find all information from the time you joined. Avoid third-party recovery tools.
How do I post a note on Messenger?
In the Messenger app on iPhone, iPad or Android, go to Chats and tap Post a note by your profile picture. Tap Share a thought… to type up to 60 characters, use Change to set who sees it or how long it shows, then tap Share. Meta says notes aren’t available on computers.
How long do Messenger notes last?
Up to 24 hours. Meta says a note shows in Messenger’s Chats list and on your Facebook story for up to 24 hours, and Messenger lets you choose how long. Notes created on Facebook expire after 24 hours, and you can delete or replace a note at any time.
Who can see my notes on Facebook?
Whoever you choose: Public (anyone on Facebook and your Messenger connections), Friends and connections, Friends, or Custom. People who see your note can reply, and in Messenger replies arrive as a chat between you and that person. Only you can see who replied to your note.