How to download your Facebook data, step by step.

Before you start: which data do you need?

• To see who unfriended you, request only Friends and followers. It’s small and usually ready quickly.
• For a privacy check, add Ads information, which lists advertisers that uploaded your data.
• For everything (posts, messages, groups, reactions), choose Available information. It’s much larger.

Step by step

1. In Facebook, open Settings & privacy → Settings → Accounts Center.
2. Tap Your information and permissions → Download your information.
3. Tap Download or transfer information and choose your Facebook profile.
4. Choose Some of your information and tick Friends and followers (and Ads information if you want it), or choose all available information.
5. Choose Download to device.
6. Set Date range: All time, Format: JSON and Media quality: Low.
7. Tap Create files. Facebook notifies you when the file is ready.

How long does it take?

A friends-only request is often ready within minutes. A full download with photos and videos can take hours. The file stays available for a few days, so download it soon.

What’s inside the ZIP?

• Your friends, with the date you became friends, plus friend requests you sent and received, and friends you removed.
• Followers and following.
• With ads information: advertisers who uploaded a list with your information, and the interests Facebook assigned to you.
• With everything: your posts, comments, reactions, groups, messages and login history.

See who unfriended you

Facebook never tells you when someone removes you. Your friends list in the download is a snapshot. Drop it on Unwrapped for Facebook now, download again in a few weeks, and you’ll see exactly who left your list in between. The full walkthrough is in who unfriended me on Facebook.

You don’t need to unzip the file, and nothing is uploaded: it’s read in your browser.

FAQ