Facebook keeps a detailed history of your actions and interactions on their network. They catalogue every person you have been friends with, every message you have sent, where you live, what you’ve liked, your events and that is only a portion of it.
You can see the list of Facebook data available to you in your “activity log” or “downloaded data” here.
If you are looking to gain better insight into the way companies store your data and how much of it you produce, Facebook is a good place to start. The best part is they let you download it in a matter of minutes.
How to download your data from Facebook
- Log in.
- Go to settings.
- Click on Your Facebook Information
- Click on Download Your Information
- On the Download your information page check off all of the items you want to download. These range from your previous posts all the way to ad topics that are most relevant to you.
- Choose your date range, format and quality type.
- Click Create File. The site will send you an alert when the file is ready for download.
- Click on the notification to navigate to the page where you can download your information.
- Click Download and the file will download to your computer.
- Once downloaded you can open the file and begin diving through your data.
The extensive amount of information can feel overwhelming but it is good to explore. Whether you are looking to get a grasp on the data collected on you, or just want a back up of your Facebook history before deleting your account, this process will help you achieve it.