Your stream just ended and the replay is nowhere obvious — so where do Kick VODs actually go? Kick saves your broadcast as a stream replay on your channel page and in your creator dashboard — on a timer. Per Kick's help center, replays remain available for 7 days after the livestream for non-verified streamers, while verified streamers can keep them for up to 30 days — after that window they are automatically deleted unless you saved a copy elsewhere (last verified August 2026). This guide covers where your VODs live, how long each content type lasts, why replays go missing early, and how to download one before the clock runs out.
Kick VODs live under your channel page's Videos tab and in your creator dashboard, and they expire on a schedule — 7 days after the stream for non-verified streamers and up to 30 days for verified ones, per Kick's help center — so anything you want to keep must be downloaded before the window closes; expired VODs are deleted automatically with no documented way back.
Key takeaways
- Kick documents exactly two VOD retention windows — 7 days for non-verified streamers, up to 30 days for verified (per Kick's help center, last verified August 2026) — after which VODs are deleted automatically, with no documented recovery.
- Viewers find replays on the channel page's Videos tab; streamers manage them in the creator dashboard, where per-VOD privacy settings live.
- Kick has no native download button — its own help article routes creators to third-party downloader tools.
- Clips have no published expiry, but they are not guaranteed permanent — do not treat clips as your backup.
- VOD and clip plays are video views, not live viewers — Kick counts the two metrics separately.
Where do Kick VODs go after your stream ends?
They land in two places at once: publicly on your channel page, and privately in your creator dashboard. For viewers, finished broadcasts are listed on the streamer's channel page under the Videos tab — the label is reported as "Past Streams" or "Videos" depending on layout, but it sits on the channel page near the player. Clips live separately under their own Clips section on the same page, and Kick also runs a site-wide clips directory at kick.com/browse/clips. (Locations as consistently reported across Kick channel-page guides; last verified August 2026.)
For you as the streamer, the creator dashboard holds the master copy. Your VODs sit there with per-VOD settings, including a privacy setting that controls whether a replay shows on your public channel page — which means a VOD can exist in your dashboard while being invisible to everyone else. Kick's own missing-VOD troubleshooting leans on this distinction: if a replay seems to have vanished, check the dashboard first — hidden and deleted are very different states. Exact menu naming varies across write-ups — look for the videos or VODs area.
Does Kick save your streams as VODs automatically?
The best-supported answer is yes — finished streams are saved as replays by default, with no toggle to flip first — but sources genuinely conflict, so verify it on your own channel. Help-center-derived wording says a finished stream is automatically saved as a VOD on your channel page, and Kick's own troubleshooting article for missing VODs never lists "you forgot to enable VODs" among the causes it walks through — a telling omission that supports auto-save. Against that, at least one recorder-tool blog insists a VOD-storage setting must be enabled first. The honest, practical move: run a short test stream, end it, and check your creator dashboard for the replay. If it appears, you have your answer; if not, check the VOD's processing status and privacy setting before concluding anything else.
How long do Kick VODs last before they are deleted?
Kick documents exactly two retention windows, and they key off verification status. Per Kick's help center, replays remain available for 7 days after the livestream concludes for non-verified streamers, while verified streamers — the green-checkmark tier — can keep stream replays on their channel for up to 30 days. Note the "up to": the 30-day figure is a ceiling, not a promise. After the retention period, VODs are automatically deleted unless you have downloaded them or saved them elsewhere. (Both figures per Kick's help center; last verified August 2026.)
Two clarifications that most guides get wrong. First, there is no documented third tier: claims that partners get 60-day VODs are Twitch-style tiering imported into Kick copy — no partner-specific window appears in any official source, only the 7-day and 30-day figures. Second, expiry is only the automatic deadline; a streamer can delete a replay manually at any point, so a VOD can disappear well before day 7 or day 30. As of August 2026 we found no evidence the windows changed in 2025 or 2026 — pages claiming Kick keeps VODs forever reflect early-platform behavior, and the widely covered 100-hour storage limit was a Twitch change, not a Kick one.
| Content type | Where it lives | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| VOD — non-verified streamer | Channel Videos tab + creator dashboard | 7 days, then auto-deleted |
| VOD — verified streamer | Channel Videos tab + creator dashboard | Up to 30 days, then auto-deleted |
| Clip | Channel Clips section + site-wide clips directory | No published expiry — not guaranteed |
| Downloaded copy | Your own storage | As long as you keep it |
Retention figures per Kick's help center, last verified August 2026; clip lifespan is undocumented.
How do you download a Kick VOD before it expires?
With a third-party downloader — because Kick has no native download button for VODs, for streamers or viewers. This is the most surprising verified fact in this guide: Kick's own help article on downloading your VOD tells you to copy the replay's link and paste it into external tools it lists by name — Kicklet.app and Streams Charts among them — then choose a resolution and download (last verified August 2026). Some guides claim a built-in Download option in the dashboard; we could not verify that, and it contradicts Kick's own article.
Make this part of your post-stream routine, not an occasional cleanup. If you are non-verified, your window is 7 days — a single busy week is enough to lose a broadcast you meant to keep.
Why is your Kick VOD missing from your channel?
Kick's help center lists five official causes, and the fix is different for each: the VOD is still processing; a per-VOD privacy setting is hiding it; a stream disconnect split your broadcast into multiple VODs; the retention period expired; or the stream failed to save due to a technical processing issue (last verified August 2026). The disconnect case catches the most people out: after a mid-stream drop, look for several shorter VODs from the same date rather than one missing replay. Processing and privacy are recoverable states; expiry and a failed save are not. If none of the five apply, Kick directs streamers to its support team. One more possibility: someone with dashboard access deleted it — and Kick documents no way to restore a deleted or expired replay, which is exactly why the download habit above matters.
Are clips more permanent than Kick VODs?
Effectively yes — clips have no documented expiry timer the way VODs do — but do not mistake that for a guarantee. Kick publishes no retention window for clips at all, and that silence cuts both ways: no documented death date, but no promise of forever either. Streamers can delete clips, and sources conflict on edge cases — some report viewer-made clips vanishing with an expired or deleted parent VOD, others say clips persist until removed. Our rule: treat clips as long-lived, not permanent, and download any clip you would genuinely miss.
The 2026 mechanics make clips a genuinely useful pressure valve for expiring replays. Per Kick's official change log, on February 10, 2026 the maximum clip length was raised from 60 seconds to 3 minutes on web, and pressing the C key on a stream or VOD opens the clip tool; clips run from roughly 10 seconds up to that cap. Because clips can be cut from a VOD, not just from a live stream, clipping your best moments before a replay expires can keep highlights alive on your channel after the full broadcast is gone — more on that loop in our guide to Kick clips. Just remember the hierarchy: the downloaded file is your archive; clips are your highlight reel.
Do VOD views count as live viewers on Kick?
No — they are two separate metrics, and mixing them up leads to bad decisions. Live viewers are the concurrent count while you broadcast — how many people are watching at the same moment. Every play of a VOD or clip is a video view, a cumulative counter that only goes up. A replay that collects 5,000 views has not added a single live viewer to any stream, and a big live audience does not automatically translate into replay views either — we unpack the counting mechanics in how Kick counts live viewers.
The split is also why VODs and clips are the one part of your channel that keeps working after you go offline: their counters keep climbing while you sleep, and they are often a new visitor's first impression. That makes a strong replay's play count a lever in its own right — some streamers buy Kick video views to push a proven VOD or clip's count higher so it reads as worth clicking. Be clear-eyed about it: artificially inflating metrics is against Kick's rules and carries real risk, so it only makes sense as a gradual, proportional nudge on content already earning organic plays — never as a substitute for making clips worth watching.
The honest bottom line
Kick VODs go to your channel's Videos tab and your creator dashboard, and they live on a clock: 7 days for non-verified streamers, up to 30 for verified, then automatic deletion with no documented recovery (per Kick's help center, last verified August 2026). Kick will not download them for you — its own help article sends you to third-party tools — so copy the link, save the file, and clip the best moments before the timer runs out. Where sources conflict we have said so — the fastest truth about your own channel is a test stream and a look at your dashboard. And if you are weighing a paid boost for a replay's play count, read our FAQ first — it lays out exactly what we do and do not guarantee before you spend anything.
Frequently asked questions
How long do Kick VODs stay up before they expire?
Per Kick's help center, stream replays remain available for 7 days after the livestream for non-verified streamers, and verified streamers can keep them for up to 30 days (last verified August 2026). After that window the VOD is deleted automatically, so download anything you want to keep before it expires.
Where can you watch someone's past streams on Kick?
Open the streamer's channel page and look for the Videos tab, where finished stream replays are listed while they are still inside their retention window. The exact label can vary slightly by layout, and clips live under a separate Clips section on the same page.
Can you recover a Kick VOD after it expired or was deleted?
No recovery path is documented. Kick's help center says VODs are automatically deleted after their retention period unless you downloaded or saved them elsewhere. The only reliable protection is saving a copy before the window closes.
Does Kick have a built-in download button for VODs?
No. Kick has no native download option for VODs, and its own help article on downloading your VOD routes creators to third-party tools instead — you copy the VOD link, paste it into one of the listed downloaders, pick a resolution and save the file. Guides claiming a built-in Download button exists could not be verified.
Do Kick clips expire like VODs do?
Kick publishes no retention window for clips, so they do not expire on a documented 7-day or 30-day timer the way VODs do. They are not guaranteed permanent either — streamers can delete them, and some sources report clips vanishing along with an expired parent VOD — so download any clip you would genuinely miss.
Do VOD views count toward your live viewer count on Kick?
No. Live viewers measure how many people are watching your broadcast at the same moment, while VOD and clip plays are counted as video views — a separate, cumulative metric. A replay collecting thousands of views will never change the live viewer number on a past or future stream.