![\"Helping](\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/bb-bh-backing-up-your-uncle.jpg\")
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Over the holidays, I was doing what every 20-something does with their family over break\u2026 teaching them the ins and outs of Facebook! \u201cHow do I comment on a post?\u201d or, \u201cWhere do I share my status?\u201d are the usual questions, but this time my uncle asked me something that I didn’t have a clear answer for: \u201cHow do I download the photos I\u2019ve posted on Facebook?\u201d<\/p>\n
A little backstory: My uncle has spent every family reunion taking tons of pictures of our extended relations and then sharing everything on Facebook. As we were talking, I realized\u2014with a little horror\u2014that Facebook was the only<\/i> place he kept copies of his photos. Forget backups, he didn\u2019t even have the originals<\/i> on his home computer. He just wanted copies saved on his personal device so that he could share the photos with the non-Facebook-using members of our family, but I wanted to ensure that our cherished history wasn\u2019t locked up on Facebook or lost forever.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s increasingly common to realize that you’re missing photos that you know are only on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter. But it seems like most of us\u2014myself included, until just recently\u2014are unsure of how to retrieve and save these images without spending days copying each picture to our camera roll. So to help my uncle, and my family, (and hopefully you!), I went on a search for an easier answer to downloading albums from Facebook.<\/p>\n
What I found was a very easy way to not only extract photos but also to download all<\/i> of your personal data from Facebook. So whether you are doing this because you wish to leave the social media world behind but don’t want to lose your memories, or you would just like to keep a copy of everything you post, here\u2019s a guide for how you can extract your data from Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter\u2014and a little encouragement to ensure it\u2019s all backed up once you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n Facebook has a tool that lets you download all your data\u2014including those \u201cwall\u201d posts you made on friend\u2019s profiles, the chat messages to old colleagues trying to reconnect, the “About You” information you wrote in the late 2000s you may have forgotten was there (or at least, that you may want to forget), and, of course, the photos.<\/p>\n On the Facebook site, after you\u2019ve logged in, navigate to “Settings,” or go to Facebook.com\/settings. After you’re there, click on \u201cYour Facebook Information\u201d in the column on the left. This is the page where you can view, download, or delete your data at any time. To download your information, click the \u201cDownload Your Information\u201d button. This will open the following screen:<\/p>\n On this page, you can select the types of information you would like to download and the date ranges you want. You can also select from 24 different categories in which Facebook collects your data. This ranges from your posts, to the advertisements you\u2019ve interacted with, to your likes\/reactions, your search history, and more. This is where you can click \u201cPhotos and Videos\u201d if you would like to extract just those files from your Facebook.<\/p>\n After selecting what you would like to download from your Facebook account, you will need to select the file format you would like to receive the data in. They give you the option to choose between HTML and JSON formats. HTML is the more user-friendly option for those who are not very tech-savvy as it makes your data easy to read. JSON is a little more technical, but it is useful for exporting your data and importing it into various applications across the web. This is because the format is a subset of JavaScript, making it a popular choice for most web services and applications.<\/p>\n Facebook will let you know when your copy is complete, so you can download the file to your preferred device. It\u2019s as simple as that! My uncle had all of his wonderful photos from our family reunions within minutes. Depending on how much content you’ve posted to Facebook it might take more or less time for the file to be prepared.<\/p>\n Although most users interact with Instagram through its mobile app, you\u2019ll need to log into your account in a web browser to download your data. Once you are logged in on Instagram.com, navigate to your profile page (click on the little \u201cperson\u201d icon in the upper righthand corner) and then click on the \u201cgear\u201d icon next to the \u201cEdit Profile\u201d button and select \u201cPrivacy and Security.\u201d<\/p>\n Once on the privacy and security page, you should scroll down to \u201cData Download,\u201d and click \u201cRequest Download.\u201d On this page, (pictured above) you can request a copy of what you have shared on Instagram. All you need to do is enter the email you would like your data sent to, then enter your account\u2019s password, and up to 48 hours later you will receive a file including all of your profile information, photos, videos, archived Instagram Stories (those posted after December 2017), your post captions, and direct messages.<\/p>\n Comparable to the Instagram process, you will need to log in to your Twitter account on a web browser to start the process of downloading your data. After logging in, start by clicking on the \u201cMore\u201d section in the navigation bar. From there, a new navigation bar will appear. You should select the \u201cSettings and Privacy\u201d tab to progress.<\/p>\n Under the \u201cAccount\u201d section, you will find an area labeled \u201cData and Permissions.\u201d Here, you can select \u201cYour Twitter Data\u201d and it will lead you to a new page where you will be able to download your data.<\/p>\n Twitter will ask you if you would like to request an archive of your Twitter data or Periscope data. (Periscope is a live video streaming app for Android and iOS that you can use to \u201cgo live\u201d on Twitter.) Once you select if you would like to download your data from Twitter, Periscope, or both, then you can click the button labeled \u201cRequest Archive.\u201d You\u2019ll get a notification with a link when your archive is ready to be downloaded. At that time, you will receive a ZIP file from Twitter with what they believe is most relevant and useful to you. This will include your direct messages, Twitter moments, profile media, and media you used in your tweets like gifs, photos, and videos.<\/p>\n If you are looking up how to download your photos and videos from social media sites like my uncle and I did this winter break, then you must be doing this for a reason, and that reason could be that you don\u2019t want to lose these memories. Protecting your newly downloaded Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter data with a good backup strategy should be the next thing on your list.<\/p>\nHow To Download Your Facebook Data<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Facebook](\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image2-1024x761.png\")
<\/p>\nPlease note<\/strong>, this option does not remove your current photos and videos from Facebook, it will only give you a copy of the files. To delete these items you will have to return to “Settings.” Once there, go to \u201cYour Facebook Information\u201d again, and click on \u201cDeactivation and Deletion\u201d to learn more about your options.<\/div>\nHow To Download Your Instagram Data<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Instagram](\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image1-1024x537.png\")
<\/p>\nHow To Download Your Twitter Data<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Twitter](\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image3-1024x484.png\")
<\/p>\nYou\u2019ve Downloaded Your Social Media Data\u2014Now What?<\/strong><\/h3>\n