You have searched for a favorite photo or video on Facebook but are unable to locate it. Facebook has an option to backup most anything saved through its app. This would allow for easier searching instead of scrolling endlessly through Facebook posts.
You may have decided to deactivate your account for health reasons or you just want a backup. There is no such thing as “too many backups”. In my IT career, I have been “burned” by not having adequate backups resulting in lost time in recreating them.
Depending on how long you have been a Facebook user, the backup file can be quite large. If you have limited storage or on a free storage plan for your mobile device, you might consider backing up to a PC or Mac.
Using this post as a guide, I am backing up thirteen years of Facebook photos and videos on a Windows 10 PC. My backup file, in Zip format, was a 1.4 GB file.
This is for PCs, Mac, mobile devices and similar platforms using Facebook
Accessing Facebook Settings
Launch Facebook. in the upper right hand corner, click on the Account icon. Next, click the Settings & Privacy option. See below image
Next, click on the Settings option. Refer to below image:
Downloading Your Facebook Information
Then click on Your Facebook Information. See following image:
Next, click on Download Your Information. See below image:
Selecting ONLY Photos and Videos
From here, click on Deselect All link. Then select only Photos and Videos option. From this screen there are many options on what to backup. For our purposes, we only want photos and videos. Refer to below image:
Once photos and videos have been selected and all other option are unselected, click the Create File button. See below image:
Messages and Emails From Facebook
You will receive a pop-up message regarding the creation of your Facebook backup for photos and videos. Refer to below image:
Check your email that is associated with your Facebook account for the file request. See below image:
It may take several hours for Facebook to process your request. When the file is ready, you will receive an email that your file is ready. Follow the directions in the message. Refer to below image:
Downloading Your Photos and Videos Backup
Click on the link for Download Your Information. Then, click the Available Copies tab. You should see information about your download file. Now, click the Download button. See following image:
Facebook will ask you to enter your Password, then click Submit. See below image:
Viewing Your Downloaded Zip File via File Explorer
Your photos and videos backup file will be in your Downloads folder in Zip format. Below is a screenshot of my backup file. Notice it contains over 3000 files. Your backuped file number will depend on how often you post photos and videos and how many years on Facebook. Refer to below image:
What I would like to see is an option to select a date range for the backup instead of everything.
I Would Like to Hear From You
Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.
