Downloading Your Facebook Data
How long have you been using Facebook? How many pictures and videos have you uploaded? What happens if you lose access to your Facebook? How much of your Facebook data do you have locally available to you? Especially if you have been a long-time Facebook user, it’s likely that many of the older pictures you have posted on Facebook don’t exist anywhere else. Today’s post will go over the steps you need to take to download a copy of your data.
So Why Do You Want A Local Backup of Your Facebook Data
Accounts can be restricted, compromised, or removed without warning, and once that happens, recovering years of photos, videos, and messages can be difficult or impossible. We previously posted about How To: Downloading Your Instagram Data, this post fits in the same category.
There are many stories, including from people who had 1000’s of followers, who had their accounts restricted or removed.
You don’t want to worry about getting your data after you have lost access to your account.
What’s Included In Your Facebook Data
There is more to getting your Facebook data; it’s not just clicking a download button. You actually need to request your data from Meta. Once you make the request, it can take up to 30 days for Meta to prepare and send you the link to download your data. This is especially true for older accounts that have uploaded a lot of data.
Once you receive the link to download your data, the download includes:
- All uploaded content, including photos, videos, stories, and reels, along with captions and timestamps
- Any Direct messages, comments, likes, saved posts, and account information, like profile details and settings
- Followers and following data, including close friends, blocked accounts, pending follow requests, recent follow requests, recently unfollowed profiles, and removal suggestions.
In addition, the download also includes:
- Activity data, like search history, login information, device details, and interaction logs.
- Metadata like location tags, upload dates, and engagement records.
How To Request Your Data Download From Instagram
To request your data, you need to follow these steps –
On the Web
- Visit Meta Account Center and sign in to your account
- Select the Your information and permissions option in the sidebar, then click Export your Information on the right.
- Click the Create Export button.
- Select your Facebook profile (if you have more than one)
- Now, choose whether to export the information to your device or to an external service (like Google Drive or Dropbox). We suggest exporting at least 1 copy locally to your PC.
- Here, you can customize your export, select your notification email, and choose your preferred format. **A couple of things to note concerning the window that opens
- Customize Information – Shows that it excludes data logs. To add the data logs, click the box, and then the next box, scroll to the bottom and add a check next to data logs.
- Date Range – By default it just lists Last Year. Click on that option, and you can change the range of the download, to include all information on Facebook.
- Once done, click the Start Export button
- Enter your account’s password when asked.
- This will trigger the request.
Meta will also send you an email to confirm the request is being processed.
On the Mobile App
- Open the Facebook app and head to your profile.
- Tap the hamburger icon in the top-right corner.
- Scroll down and click on Setting under Settings & Privacy
- Tap Meta Account
- Tap Your information and permissions.
- Now, tap Export your information.
- Next, tap the Create Export button.
- Select the profile you’d like to export information from.
- Choose whether to export the information to your device or to an external service.
- Once done, tap the Start Export button.
- Enter your account’s password when asked.
Meta will also send you an email to confirm the request is being processed.
When You Receive An Email From Meta That The Download Is Ready
Once your export is ready, you will receive an email that states “Your Meta information download is ready.”
- At this point, you can either click the link in the email or manually go to the Export Your Information page in Meta’s Accounts Center. Once there, you’ll find your Instagram data archive under Available downloads.
You will have 4 days to actually download your files from the point you receive your email, so don’t wait too long to download your Instagram data file from Meta.
Final Thought
Having a download of your data ensures you keep a full copy of all of your uploaded information. No matter what happens with your account, you don’t lose data. Setting a reminder to yourself and requesting your data regularly (every 45 or 60 days) is good practice to keep your information under your control.
