How to Download Your Facebook Photos and Data Before Leaving

Facebook lets you download a copy of everything — your photos, messages, posts, and profile data. Here is how to save it before deleting your account or switching platforms.

In this guide (4 steps):

1.Request your Facebook data download
2.Choose what to include and the format
3.Wait for the file and download it
4.Find and organize your photos in the download

Request your Facebook data download

~29s

Log in to Facebook on a computer (this is easier on a computer than the app). Click the small triangle or your profile picture icon in the top right → "Settings & Privacy" → "Settings" → in the left sidebar click "Your Facebook information" → "Download your information" or "Transfer a copy." Click "Download or transfer information." You can choose "All time" to get everything.

Quick Tip

Quick Tip: On the Facebook app: tap the three-line menu (☰) → Settings & PrivacySettings → "Your Facebook Information" → "Download Your Information."

Choose what to include and the format

~21s

A list of data categories appears: Posts, Photos and Videos, Messages, Friends, Groups, Events, Marketplace, and more. Select "All" to get everything, or check only what you want. Under Format, choose "HTML" to view files in a browser (more readable) or "JSON" (technical format for importing elsewhere). Under Media quality: choose "High" to get photos at their original resolution. Click "Create file."

Wait for the file and download it

~35s

Facebook will prepare your download — this can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours depending on how much data you have. You will receive a notification and/or email when the file is ready. Go back to the "Download Your Information" page and click the Download button next to your file. Save it to your computer. The file is a compressed archive (.zip file). On Windows, right-click it and "Extract All." On Mac, double-click it to unzip.

Quick Tip

Quick Tip: The download link expires after a few days. Download the file promptly when notified. If you miss the window, repeat the request to generate a new download.

Find and organize your photos in the download

~27s

Open the unzipped folder. Navigate to the "photos_and_videos" folder (if you chose HTML format) or equivalent folder. Your photos are organized by album and year. Copy the photos you want to keep to a permanent location — your main photos folder, an external drive, or cloud backup. If you chose HTML format, there is an "index.html" file at the root of the folder — open it in any web browser to browse all your Facebook data in a readable format.

You Did It!

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If you are thinking about leaving Facebook, or if you simply want a personal archive of your memories, Facebook lets you download a complete copy of your data. This includes all your photos (in their original resolution), every post you made, all messages, your friends list, events you attended, and much more.

This download is also useful if you worry about losing access to your account. Having a local copy of your photos and important memories means your Facebook memories are not entirely dependent on Facebook remaining operational or you keeping your account.

The download takes time to prepare (usually a few minutes to a few hours) and the resulting file can be quite large if you have years of photos.

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