One Weird Trick to Download your Facebook Data

NOTE: Chubbies is a brand of shorts. Thank you. :)

This is SUPER creepy.

(Note- I'll be writing a separate blog post about how to deal with the collection of data contained in each of the downloaded files)

I downloaded my Facebook data file.
I'll give instructions at the bottom of this post.

Facebook gives you the ability to do this. You must request the data file and then wait for it to arrive by email.

Mine took about 24 hours.

When the email arrived is contained a zipped file I had to download. Who knows what permission that gave them on my computer.

The unzipped folder included several html files that can be viewed in a browser window. 

The photo above shows the links to each section of data. Here is what I found inside each one:

PROFILE-
All of my personal information including old email addresses, phone numbers, age and education information, etc.

CONTACT INFO-
This file contains ALL of my iPhone contact numbers. 

TIMELINE-
Every post I have written since 2006, every friend connection I have ever made, including the date we became Facebook friends.

Whoa. No wonder they know so much about me.

FYI- MJ, we became Friends on November 6, 2007- Just so you’ll know
 
PHOTOS-
All of them. Except maybe not all of them? It's very hard to tell. 

VIDEOS-
Every video I have ever linked to or posted.

FRIENDS-
Yep. All of them.

Except the list is not in alphabetical order.
- OF COURSE IT ISN'T-.

The list also included people with whom I am no longer friends. I think. It's very hard to tell with

It also included all the people that follow me and all the people I follow.

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I tried copying the names and pasting them in a spreadsheet, then alpha sorting. It worked.

The hurdle is that they are listed by first name and there is no separate column for last name and the date the Facebook connection was made is also on the same line.

The good thing about this is that it is easier to grab all the names than it is when trying to copy from the actual Facebook page.

I have not tried this with my public page yet. I'll figure it out and report if it's even possible.

MESSAGES
 There they are, including those from and to people you have deleted from your life.

Of course they are not in alpha order.
They are listed by the first date you sent messages.

Once you click the name, it shows the entire message history. 

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I do not know if deleted messages (back when that was possible) show up.
I can only think of a couple of exchanges with someone where I am sure they deleted messages.
Since the TO/FROM list is not alphabetical
it will take me a very long time to find
that person's name.
I have received and sent a LOT of messages, as I am certain you have.

We need to stop that.

POKES -
Seriously? I forgot they even had that feature.

I do remember that when I first joined Facebook it was just a collection of random profiles.
There wasn't much in the way of conversation, so my Pokes are kind of old.
 
EVENTS-
I have no clue how this list works.
It appears to be any event to which I have ever been invited, including many to which I never knew I was invited.

SECURITY-
ACTIVE SESSIONS- A list of freaky web browsers, IP addresses, credit card action cookies, devices and random weirdness to which I am or have been connected.

Note to self- It shows IP addresses, which means they can tell the general location from which I logged in. 


ADS-
Literally hundreds and hundreds of keyword subjects,  mine includes Mitt Romney (what?),  stand-up paddle boards, the word poodle, allergies and  Kree Harrison from American Idol. Whoever that is.


PLACES CREATED-

A list, including the words
"Some Random Rest Stop in Florida"
That definitely sounds like a place I would have created.

APPLICATIONS-
HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of applications, all of which I have given permission to access my soul.

The screen-shot above is only the links section of the page. There is a cascading list you can;t see that takes a full minute to scroll.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD YOUR DATA FILES

CLICK the DOWN ARROW IN THE UPPER RIGHT OF YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE>

CLICK the SETTINGS link>

Go to the very bottom of the page to
"DOWNLOAD A COPY OF YOUR FACEBOOK DATA"

Then do what they tell you. You have no other choice. Use the comment box at the bottom of this page to me know how it goes.
 

“There is a comment link down there somewhere. It’s really small and Squarespace tells me they can’t fix it.
Squint. And comment. I’ll pay you back.
”