Having a copy of your Facebook information (pictures, videos, posts, profile information, and more) is really not that hard, with just a few taps and clicks to get there, this may be required if you plan to delete or deactivate your account.
The file provides you with a copy of (all) the information and content you have on the platform,
Once downloaded, you can access the content offline and probably store it on a computer, a flash drive, or on the cloud.
These can be easily done on mobile and desktop, usually, the files are not available for instant downloads, requiring that you wait for a few days to get your request processed,
When the files are ready, you'll receive a notification, stating that the file is available for download.
The file can be accessed by entering your password, the password protection is for security reasons, once on the download page.
The files can be downloaded in its entirety or some specific categories, which can be selected by you.
With that said, let's proceed
How to backup/download your Facebook account and it's information
Fire up your browser, go to the site and login
1. Tap the three horizontal bars (options menu)
2. Scroll down and tap settings
3. Scroll down a bit and tap Download your Information, which is on the Your Facebook Information section.
4. On the page, you can select specific categories by tapping the DESELECT ALL button and selecting the categories that you want, or manually, by having some of the options that are not required unchecked.
There are also options to
- Select the date range of the information you want to download, by default it's set to all time.
- Select file format for your download request, preferably HTML, (it comes as a ZIP file)
- Select the quality of your videos, photos, and other media.
To proceed, scroll down and tap the CREATE FILE button.
Usually, you'll have to wait for some hours to a few days for the request to be processed, this depends on how large your content is, and how long you have stayed on the platform.
You'll get a notification, once the file is ready, on the Download your Information page, it will change on the AVAILABLE COPIES section from Pending to DOWNLOAD.
5. To access the file tap DOWNLOAD, the section also shows the file expiring date, which is three days after the request was made.
6. Enter your password on the page and tap Continue to proceed with the download, the file will be downloaded on your device.
How to backup/download your Facebook account and its content on desktop
Start your browser, go to the site, and login
1. Once you're logged in, click the triangular option menu button
2. Select Settings and privacy from the drop-down menu
3. Click Settings
4. Select Your Facebook Information from the settings options, this is the third option on the list, then locate Download your Information from the menu and click View
5. On the new page, by default the time range is set to all of my data, media quality is set to high and the file format is set to HTML, note that these options can be altered and be selected as you see fit.
To download only specific categories, you can uncheck the categories not needed. By leaving all the boxes checked, you're downloading all the files that Facebook have on you,
For the best media quality (photos, videos) choose High from the options, note that this makes the file size larger.
To proceed click Create File
Usually, you'll have to wait for some hours to a few days, for the request to be processed, this is dependent on how large your content on the platform is, be sure to keep an eye for it, as the file will expire 3 days after it has been made available.
Once the file is processed, you'll get a notification telling you so,
6. To proceed, you may follow the link in the notification or simply return the download your information page and click the AVAILABLE COPIES section, at the point the statues would change from pending to DOWNLOAD, to access the file tap DOWNLOAD
7. Enter your password on the page and tap Continue to proceed with the download. The file will be download to your computer
That's it, once you are done with the process, just log out and view the file on your computer.
What is HTML and JSON file format, which file format is best for me
When you request to download a copy of your file, there are only two available formats, the HTML and JSON format.
The preferred format would be HTML format, it comes in a ZIP file format, and once extracted,
It can be easily accessed on a browser or with a HTML reader which common and available for computer and mobile operating system (Android and iOS), the JSON format would be best if you plan to import the files on other platforms.
What are the other options provided
There is an option to select the time range of file you want to access, this time starts from the day you created the account to the day that you are requesting to download the file, you can therefore you can choose a range from this time frame or simply download everything that is on the platform,
There is also an option to select the file quality(these include images, videos, and other forms of multimedia) which range from low, medium to high, note that the higher the quality the bigger the file.
How to view my information on Facebook without downloading
It's not mandatory to download your content on the platform before you can access this information, you can easily view them instantly without any delay,
To view it, just hit the menu option tab, > select settings > from Your Facebook Information section tap Access your information,
On the page your can view the information that Facebook has on you, you select any category you want, view profile pictures, images posts, videos and more without the need to download it.
Comments
Post a Comment