Facebook knows a lot about you. Some of this information was provided when you signed up, but there are things you may not know. We show you how to view and download it.
Your Facebook Information
First, you might be curious about how much data Facebook has about you. There are obvious things like your name, date of birth, family members, and so on, but what else does it know?
Log into Facebook in a web browser, such as Google Chrome, on a computer to see. Click the arrow at the top right and select ̵
Then click on ‘Settings’.
In the ‘Settings’ sidebar, click on ‘Your Facebook Information’.
You will see a few different areas to explore. Click on ‘View’ to the right of ‘Access your data’.
Here you will see all your Facebook information organized in different categories. Clicking on any of these will bring up links so you can view everything.
Scroll down to the “Information about you” section. Here you can view the more personal information that Facebook collects. Click a category again to expand it.
Download your data
After reviewing all the information, you may want to download a copy for safekeeping. This is a good idea if you plan to delete your account.
To do this, go to Settings and privacy> Settings> Your Facebook information. Click on ‘View’ next to ‘Download your data’.
You will see all of the categories we explored above. Check the box next to the categories from which you want to download information.
Then you can decide how far back you want to go. By default, it downloads all information from when you first created your account. Click on “All my data” to adjust the date range.
Use the calendars to select a start and end date, then click ‘OK’.
Then choose the format in which you want to save your downloaded information. HTML is easier to view, but JSON works better for importing to other services. Unfortunately, you cannot do this twice and save the information in both formats.
The last option is “Media Quality”; the higher the quality you choose, the greater the download will be.
After you have made all your selections, click “Create File” to make the download.
You will see the message “A copy of your information will be made”. You may also receive an email to confirm this. Facebook will let you know when your information is ready for download.
That’s all there is to it! Depending on how much information you have selected, it may take a while to create the file.
When it is done, you will be prompted to download the ZIP file. This file contains folders with all of your information. Some of it will be difficult to translate, but things like photos and videos are easy. If you look through it, you’ll see everything Facebook knows about you.
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