Are you an ardent Facebook user? If so, have you ever thought about Facebook backup? You might be wondering what purpose an off-line copy of your Facebook account serves. The truth is that it may prove to be useful to download your Facebook information in certain situations.
I was concerned with backing up some of the mobile photos I’ve put on my Facebook page within the last year so I was searching for a way to backup and download my Facebook information, photos and wall/status updates. Facebook recently came out with an option to do this. Just in time Zuck!
What if you couldn’t find the information you put on Facebook anywhere else? Let’s say, for example, you took some important pictures on your phone and uploaded it to Facebook. What would you do once you lost your phone? Luckily, you can download Facebook pictures that you uploaded from your phone using the outlined method. Downloading your Facebook information is also useful because it allows you to transfer the information you have onto other platforms, if necessary.
How to Initiate a Facebook Backup
- First, open your browser and log on to www.Facebook.com. In the proper fields, enter in the email address that you use to log in with and your password to access your account.
- After logging in, you should see three tabs on the top right of the screen that read “home”, “profile”, and “account”. After clicking on the “account” tab, a drop-down menu should appear; select the “account settings” tab on the drop-down menu.
- You should now see a page with a list of possible actions you can take, such as changing your email, username, password, etc. Find the heading that reads “Download Your Information” and click the tab that says “learn more”.
- On the page that opens you will see a download button. After reading the directions on that page, click the download button.
Your Facebook information will come in the form of a zip file. Keep in mind that Facebook needs time to gather all the information it has that pertains to your account and that you’ll have to wait a little while before you begin the actual download. You will receive an email when you are ready to download your Facebook information . Also keep in mind that before the actual download, Facebook will ask you to verify your account information for security reasons.
If you’re wondering what’s included when you backup Facebook this way the answer is “just about anything you put up”. You can download profile content like your contact information, interests, and associated groups. You can download wall posts and other related content that you and your friends share on your profile. Photos and videos that are uploaded to your account are also downloadable. Friend lists, notes that you have created, sent and received messages, and even events that you have RSVP’d are also among some of the things you can download as well.
It is important to note that through this particular method of Facebook backup it is not possible to pick and choose which information you would like to download; it’s an all-or-nothing deal. If you want to download Facebook pictures , video, and information in one shot, this is probably the best way.
There is one last thing to keep in mind when backing up your Facebook account. Your downloaded file will contain sensitive information. Facebook strongly urges you to keep your data secure and take extra precautions when storing or transferring this data onto other services.
