How long security cameras keep footage depends on where the video is stored. Cloud plans keep recordings for a fixed number of days set by the plan, ranging in the examples below from a few hours to several months, and then delete them automatically. Cameras that record locally to a memory card, DVR or NVR keep footage until the storage fills up, then overwrite the oldest video first, so the retention period is set by storage size, the number of cameras, resolution and whether they record continuously or only on motion. Businesses in some regulated industries also have legal minimums or maximums. The sections below explain each case and how to work out the number for your own system.
The short answer by storage type
| Where footage is stored | What controls how long it is kept | What happens at the limit |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud subscription | The plan's video history setting | Older clips are deleted on a rolling basis |
| microSD card in the camera | Card capacity, resolution, recording mode | Usually overwrites the oldest footage (loop recording), if enabled |
| DVR or NVR with hard drives | Total drive capacity divided by what all cameras write per day | Overwrites oldest footage, or stops recording if overwrite is off |
| Video management software / server | Retention rules you configure | Deletes or archives based on your policy |
How long cloud camera plans keep footage
Consumer camera brands publish their retention limits, and they change from time to time, so check the current plan page for your camera. Two examples from the companies' own help pages:
Ring
- Motion and other event videos are kept according to your Event Video Storage Time setting: 60 days by default, adjustable up to 180 days.
- 24/7 Recording (on supported devices) is stored in the cloud for up to 14 days. Ring says that to keep that continuous footage longer, you need to download it to local storage, and downloads from the 24/7 timeline are limited to clips of up to 10 minutes.
Google Nest
- Google's current help page lists Google Home Premium Standard as providing up to 30 days of event video history. Advanced provides up to 60 days of event history and up to 10 days of 24/7 history for supported devices. Older first-generation Nest Aware plans offered 5, 10 or 30 days of 24/7 history and did not include event video history.
- Without a subscription, newer Nest cameras and doorbells keep up to 3 hours of event video history, and some older models keep only 3 hours of snapshots.
- Google's current support page describes Google Home Premium Standard and Advanced plans; Google's October 2025 announcement says Google Home Premium replaces Nest Aware. Standard includes up to 30 days of event history; Advanced includes up to 60 days of event history and up to 10 days of 24/7 history on supported devices. Check your account and device compatibility because plan names and limits can change.
- Not every device supports continuous recording. Google notes that the battery Nest Cam must be connected to power for 24/7 history, and the battery Nest Doorbell does not support 24/7 history at all.
The pattern across brands is similar: event clips are kept longer than continuous recordings, longer history costs more, and once a clip passes the limit it is gone. If something important happens, download the clip right away rather than relying on the plan.
How long local recording lasts
With an SD card, DVR or NVR, there is no fixed number of days. The system records until the storage is full and then, with overwrite enabled, replaces the oldest footage. Retention is roughly:
Days of footage = total storage ÷ data written per day by all cameras
Data written per day depends on each camera's bitrate, which is driven by resolution, frame rate, compression settings and how much motion is in the scene. You can usually see or set the bitrate in the camera or recorder's video settings.
A worked example
Suppose a camera streams at 4 megabits per second (Mbps) and records continuously:
- 4 Mbps × 86,400 seconds in a day = 345,600 megabits.
- 345,600 megabits ÷ 8 = 43,200 megabytes, or about 43.2 GB per day.
- Four such cameras write about 173 GB per day.
- On a recorder with 4 TB (4,000 GB) of usable space, that is about 4,000 ÷ 173 ≈ 23 days of continuous footage.
Change any input and the result changes. Halving the bitrate roughly doubles the number of days. Recording only on motion can stretch storage much further, but the gain depends entirely on how often motion is detected. Use your own cameras' actual bitrates rather than these sample numbers.
Ways to keep local footage longer
- Add storage. Larger or additional drives in the recorder, or a larger memory card if the camera supports it.
- Lower the bitrate on cameras that do not need maximum detail, or lower the frame rate.
- Use motion or event recording for low-activity areas and save continuous recording for key views.
- Export important clips as soon as you know about an incident, so overwriting cannot erase them.
How long businesses must (or may) keep footage
For most homes and many businesses there is no general law that sets a retention period. Specific industries and jurisdictions are different, and privacy law can push in the opposite direction by limiting how long you keep footage.
Industry rules: an example
California's cannabis regulations are a clear case of a minimum. Under California Code of Regulations, title 4, section 15044, licensed premises must keep surveillance recordings for at least 90 calendar days, cameras must record continuously 24 hours a day at a minimum of 15 frames per second, and most licensed premises need a minimum camera resolution of 1280 × 720 pixels. Other states and other regulated industries set their own rules, so check the regulations that apply to your license.
Privacy law: keep it only as long as needed
Where data protection law applies to camera footage, the rule is often a maximum rather than a minimum. The UK Information Commissioner's Office says its video-surveillance guidance is under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act, so check the current guidance. Its storage-limitation guidance says you must not keep personal data longer than you need it, you must be able to justify how long you keep it based on your purpose, and you need a policy setting standard retention periods where possible. Where footage counts as personal data, for example because it shows identifiable people, a business using cameras in the UK should set and document a retention period and delete footage when it ends, keeping specific clips longer only when there is a reason, such as an open incident.
How to check and set retention on your system
- Find where footage goes. Cloud, camera card, recorder, or more than one.
- For cloud cameras, open the app's video storage or video history settings and confirm the plan and storage time. Note whether continuous and event recordings have different limits.
- For recorders, check total drive capacity, confirm overwrite is on, and look at the oldest recording currently available. That date tells you your real retention today.
- Decide what you need. A household might want enough history to cover a vacation. A business should match its legal obligations and written policy.
- Re-check after changes. Adding a camera, raising resolution or switching to continuous recording all shorten local retention.
Saving footage you may need later
If you think a recording may matter for an insurance claim, a police report or a dispute, act quickly. Download or export the clip, note the date, time and camera, and store a copy somewhere separate from the system that will overwrite it. Do not assume the platform will keep it, because cloud history and local storage both delete older footage automatically.
For the official details referenced above, see Ring's 24/7 Recording help article, Google's event and 24/7 video history help page, and the ICO's guidance on storage limitation.
