As a widely used social media platform, Facebook is a great way to share media and posts with friends and family. But it can be frustrating when you click on a video or photo’s link and get an error message saying, “Sorry, this content isn’t available right now.”

Keep reading to find the reasons behind this message and how to fix a ‘content is not available’ situation on Facebook.

Why Do I See ‘This Content Isn’t Available at the Moment’ on Facebook

Seeing a post with one click is efficient, but sometimes the content is unavailable. This Facebook error might appear because of the following reasons:

  • If the post is marked as spam by Facebook or other users;
  • If the post owner shared it with a selected audience, and you’re not part of it;
  • If the content is deleted;
  • The post creator blocked you or vice versa;
  • Try to see content from a private group will show up as an error;
  • If there are geo, country, or age restrictions on the content.

How to Fix Content Not Available on Facebook

If you encounter such a situation with an error message, don’t worry. There are some solutions you can try out and fix the issue. 

1. Ask to be unblocked. 

If someone has blocked you, their images, posts, or status won’t be available. To see whether you have been blocked, go to their profile, and if you see the message “This content isn’t available at the moment”, you’re blocked. 

If that’s the case, get in touch with the person and ask them to unblock you. However, if you can visit their Facebook profile, consider trying the other fixes below.

2. Unblock the post creator. 

The other case scenario would be that you’ve blocked the post creator. In that case, go to the Facebook block list and try to remove them from that list. Here’s how to do that: 

  • Tap on the hamburger icon in the upper right corner, and select Settings & Privacy > Settings
  • Open Blocking
  • Search for the blocked person, and tap Unblock.

3. Log in and Log out again.

Sometimes Facebook will log you out without your knowledge. That might be an expired active session, a browser cookie problem, or you have logged in from another device. First, try reloading the page and logging in again. Then, search the content again and see if it’s available. 

4. Deleted content.

The post creator could have deleted the content, so you will get the message “this page isn’t available right now” on Facebook. Facebook deletes content that isn’t aligned with their community guidelines and marks it as spam, flagged, or inappropriate. If the content is appropriate, you can ask the post creator to share it. 

5. Deactivated or deleted profile.

Facebook users can take a social media break by deactivating their profile or permanently deleting it. So, you can’t see any of the content they have posted, and you will get the message “this content is not available” on their Facebook profile. Facebook deleted profiles that weren’t following the guidelines. If you know that person in real life, you can ask them about it or if they have a new profile where you can add them. 

6. Changed privacy settings. 

Another scenario is that the post owner has changed the privacy settings. The privacy options are public, friends, specific friends, and only me. You could see the post because the post owner allowed you to. But if the post owner changed it to a more private audience like specific friends or only me, you will get a Facebook “no data available” message.

If you’re not a member of a private Facebook group, you won’t be able to see the content or comment in that group, and you will get a “this content isn’t available right now” message in the Facebook group. To have access to certain content, you would need to ask to be added to that group.

Further reading: How To See Who Shared Your Posts on Facebook 

7. Enable Page published. 

The admin of a Facebook page gets the Page visibility option. They should select that option so that the posts can be available to the Facebook page followers. To activate this option, follow these steps:

  • Open the Facebook page, and click on Settings in the bottom left corner;
  • Click on General in the left menu;
  • Click Edit at the Page Visibility option;

Source: New Sitech

  • Click Page Published;
  • Click Save Changes.

8. Remove country or age restrictions.

Facebook group admins can limit the visibility of content to a specific country or age group. That means people who aren’t part of that geo or age group won’t see the content. The group admin can only fix this as only they can edit the geo and age restrictions.

Here’s how to change the geo and age restrictions on a desktop:

  • Click Pages on the left menu;
  • Visit the Page and select Page Settings;
  • Click Country Restrictions in the General tab;
  • Click on Edit, and delete the countries which have a restriction;

Source: New Scitech

  • Then click on Age Restrictions, and make changes;
  • Click on Save Changes.

You can always use a VPN to unblock geo-restricted content, and you will be able to see specific posts without getting the “this content isn’t available” message on a Facebook friend profile.

9. Check for virus or malware interference. 

Viruses can interfere with you seeing some content and getting the error message on Facebook. To check if they are present and protect yourself from future viruses, use Windows Defender, Avast, Advanced System Protector, or Antimalware software for Android and Mac PC.

If you have tried all the previous fixes and none worked, try linking search engines outside of Facebook to the profile. Here’s how to do that:

Further reading:

  • How to scan viruses on an android phone

  • How Does Antivirus Software Work To Remove Digital Threats?

  • Click on the Drop Down button in the top right corner;

  • Select Settings & Privacy, and then Settings;

  • Click on Privacy from the left menu;

  • Click on Edit next to the question Do you want search engines outside Facebook to link to your profile?

    Source: Scitech

  • Mark the box next to Allow search engines outside of Facebook to link to your Profile.
  • Click Close.

As we already mentioned, sometimes when you click on content, you will get the error message “sorry, this content isn’t available”, “content not found”, or “this page isn’t available”. Here’s what they all mean:

  • Content isn’t available – This means that the content was deleted or the URL was changed.
  • Content not found – the link could be wrong, not valid or deleted.
  • This page isn’t available – The person has deleted or deactivated the account, but it can also be due to an unstable internet connection.

1. Why does Facebook say this content is not available?

The content was either deleted or the user deleted their account. Another reason would be that they have blocked you or you have blocked them.

You might be interested in How to Delete a Facebook Account Without a Password

2. Will I get the content isn’t available error message if a person blocked me?

Yes, one possible reason for getting this message is that you were blocked. If this is the case, you could ask the person to unblock you but first, check whether they have deleted or deactivated their account as this might be another reason for seeing this message on Facebook.