How to Save Photos on Facebook: A Complete Guide to Downloading Your Memories

Facebook is a treasure trove of memories, especially when it comes to photos. From spontaneous snapshots with friends to carefully curated vacation albums, your Facebook profile likely holds years of visual stories. But what happens if you want to safeguard these memories outside of the platform? Whether you’re planning a digital detox, backing up your precious moments, or simply want offline access to your photos, knowing How To Save Photos On Facebook is essential.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the simple steps to download all your Facebook photos at once, ensuring you never lose those cherished visual memories. We’ll cover methods for both desktop and mobile, and explain why backing up your Facebook photos is a smart move in today’s digital world.

Downloading All Your Facebook Photos: Step-by-Step

Facebook has made it straightforward to download your personal data, including all your photos. You can request a downloadable file containing your posts, and within that, your photos and videos. Here’s how to do it on both your computer and the Facebook mobile app:

Saving Facebook Photos from Your Computer

Using a computer offers a convenient way to initiate a bulk download of your Facebook photos. Follow these steps:

Navigate to Settings & Privacy: Click on your profile picture located in the top right corner of Facebook. From the dropdown menu, select Settings & Privacy, and then click on Settings.

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Image alt text: Accessing Facebook settings and privacy menu, with the ‘Settings’ option highlighted for users to click.
Access Your Facebook Information: In the left-hand menu, click on Privacy, then select Your Facebook Information. If you are managing a Facebook Page, the option might be Facebook Page Information.

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Image alt text: Locating the ‘Your Facebook Information’ section within Facebook settings to manage account data.
Initiate Download Request: Click on Download profile information. This will take you to the ‘Request a copy’ page where you can specify what data you want to download.

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Image alt text: Selecting ‘Download profile information’ in Facebook to start the process of downloading personal data.
Customize Download Options: Choose your preferred format (HTML or JSON), media quality (High, Medium, or Low), and date range. For downloading photos, HTML and High quality are generally recommended. Select All time for the date range to ensure you get all your photos.

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Image alt text: Customizing download settings on Facebook, including format, media quality, and date range for data export.
Deselect All and Choose Posts: Click Deselect All to uncheck all data categories. Then, specifically select Posts. This ensures you only download your posts which include photos and videos, minimizing the file size and download time if you’re only interested in visual content. You can also choose Groups if you want to download posts from Facebook groups you are a member of.

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Image alt text: Deselecting all categories and specifically choosing ‘Posts’ on Facebook’s download request page to customize data export.
Request the Download: Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Request a download. The button will become greyed out, indicating that Facebook is processing your request.

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Image alt text: Clicking the ‘Request a download’ button on Facebook to initiate the data download process.
Wait for the Notification: Facebook will send you an email and a Facebook notification once your download file is ready. This may take some time depending on the amount of data you are requesting. Click the link in the email or the notification on Facebook to be directed to the Available files tab in the Download Your Information page.

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Image alt text: Facebook notification alerting users that their requested data download file is ready for access.
Download Your Photos: Click the Download button next to the prepared file.
Enter Password and Confirm: You will be prompted to re-enter your Facebook password for security verification. Enter your password and click Confirm to proceed with the download.

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Image alt text: Facebook login page prompting users to enter their password to confirm and access their data download.
Save the ZIP File: Choose a location on your computer to save the downloaded file. It will be a ZIP file, usually named facebook-(your username).zip by default.
Access Your Photos: Once downloaded, unzip the file. Navigate to the postsmedia folder within the extracted files to find all your Facebook photos and videos organized in folders.

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Image alt text: Exploring the media folders within a downloaded Facebook archive to locate photos and videos.

Saving Facebook Photos Using the Mobile App

Downloading your Facebook photos is also possible directly from the Facebook app on your smartphone. Here’s how:

Go to Settings & Privacy: Tap on your profile picture to open the menu. Scroll down and tap on Settings & Privacy, then Settings.

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Image alt text: Accessing the settings and privacy menu from a Facebook profile on an Android app.
Navigate to Download Your Information: Scroll down to the Security section and tap Off-Facebook Activity. Then tap More Options followed by Download Your Information.

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Image alt text: Navigating through ‘Off-Facebook activity’ and ‘More Options’ to reach ‘Download Your Information’ on the Facebook mobile app.
Deselect All and Choose Posts: In the Request copy tab, tap Deselect all, and then select Posts.
Customize Download Settings: Scroll to the bottom and specify the Date Range, Format, and Media Quality for your download. Select your preferred options, such as All of my data, HTML, and High for photos.
Create File: Tap CREATE FILE. You will be redirected to the AVAILABLE COPIES tab.

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Image alt text: Configuring download options and creating a file request for Facebook data download on a mobile app.
Download the File: Wait for the status to change from Pending. Once it’s ready, tap Download. You might also receive an email or Facebook notification when the file is available.

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Image alt text: Waiting for the download file to become available and then selecting ‘Download’ on the Facebook mobile app.
Login and Save: Facebook will open in your mobile browser. Log in if prompted and accept the download. The ZIP file will be saved to your phone’s storage.

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Image alt text: Facebook login page in a mobile browser followed by a prompt to download the requested data file.
Unzip and Access: Use a file manager app to unzip the downloaded ZIP file and navigate to the postsmedia folder to access your saved Facebook photos.

Why Should You Save Your Facebook Photos?

There are several compelling reasons to download photos from Facebook. The most common scenarios include:

Account Deletion: If you’re considering deleting your Facebook account, downloading your photos ensures you don’t lose those irreplaceable visual memories. It’s a way to preserve your personal history even after leaving the platform.
Data Backup: Treating your Facebook photos as valuable data is wise. Downloading them is a form of backup, protecting against unforeseen account issues or data loss on Facebook’s end. Having a local copy provides peace of mind.
Privacy Concerns: You might decide to remove certain photos from your Facebook profile for privacy reasons but still want to keep them for personal records. Downloading them beforehand allows you to curate your online presence without losing access to your memories.
Offline Access: Having photos downloaded means you can view and enjoy them anytime, anywhere, without needing an internet connection or accessing Facebook.

Downloading Single Albums or Individual Photos

For situations where you don’t need all your photos, Facebook allows you to download individual albums or even single photos directly:

Download an Album: Navigate to the album you wish to save. Click on the three-dot menu (More options) within the album and select Download Album.

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Image alt text: Locating the ‘Download Album’ option within a Facebook photo album’s menu for direct album download.
Download a Single Photo: Open the photo you want to download in full-screen view. Click the three-dot menu and select Download. On the mobile app, after opening the photo, tap the three-dot menu and choose Save to phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I download Facebook videos?

To save your own Facebook videos, navigate to More > Videos > Your Videos and click the pencil icon on the video. Select the desired quality, and then under the More menu, click Download. Downloading videos from other people’s profiles usually requires third-party apps or browser extensions due to Facebook’s privacy policies.
How do I download a Facebook Live video?

You can download your own saved Facebook Live videos from the Your Videos page using the same method as regular videos. For downloading live videos from others, you might need to use third-party apps that offer Facebook video download functionalities.

Conclusion

Knowing how to save photos on Facebook empowers you to take control of your digital memories. Whether you choose to download your entire photo library or just select albums and photos, Facebook provides the tools you need. Regularly backing up your photos is a proactive step in preserving your cherished moments for years to come, regardless of your future with the platform. Take a moment today to secure your Facebook memories and ensure they remain yours, offline and always accessible.