Quick! How many status updates have you posted to Facebook? How many photos? How many did you post, but don’t remember posting? If you’ve ever been curious just how much information you’ve posted to the world’s largest social media site, or if you’re paranoid that one day Facebook’s servers and backup servers will suffer a massive data loss event, then, boy does Facebook have something you’re going to love!
“Download Your Life”
Did you know that you can download your Facebook Information?
Technically, it’s called “Download Your Information,” but I found it under my Account Settings. Login to Facebook (using https://facebook.com to ensure security, more on that in a later post) and click on the “Account” button at the top right. A drop down menu will appear; click “Account Settings.” The default tab displayed should be the “Settings” tab. Near the bottom, you’ll see the option to “Download Your Information.” Click on the “learn more” link and here’s what you’ll see:
This tool lets you download a copy of your information, including your photos and videos, posts on your wall, all of your messages, your friend list and other content you have shared on your profile. Within this zip file you will have access to your data in a simple, browseable manner. Learn More about downloading a copy of your information.
Security
This is a copy of all of the personal information you’ve shared on Facebook. In order to protect your information, we will ask for authentication to verify your identity.WARNING: This file contains sensitive information. Because this download contains your profile information, you should keep it secure and take precautions when storing, sending or uploading it to any other services.
The process takes quite a while, but you will be notified when it is complete. Once completed, you’ll be able to download your information via a .zip file that will contain the following information:
- Your profile information (e.g., your contact information, interests, groups)
- Wall posts and content that you and your friends have posted to your profile
- Photos and videos that you have uploaded to your account
- Your friend list
- Notes you have created
- Events to which you have RSVP’d
- Your sent and received messages
- Any comments that you and your friends have made on your Wall posts, photos, and other profile content
So, there you have it! It appears that Facebook doesn’t just let your posts evaporate into the ether. Instead, you can download it for posterity and archival purposes, like that old filing cabinet you have that you’ve never cleaned out.
