How to save pictures from Facebook to computer

Save and download all your Facebook photos before canceling your account

What to Know

• Visit Facebook's Download Your Information page and choose Posts.
• Select Request a download, and wait for the email to get the ZIP file.
• Mobile: Settings & Privacy > Settings > Off-Facebook Activity > More Options > Download Your Information.

This article explains how to download all your Facebook photos at once, and why you might decide to do so. These directions will help you download data from your profiles, groups, and pages.

How Do I Download All My Photos From My Facebook Profile or Page?

Facebook makes downloading all your photos easy, so you don't have to save each of them individually.

These steps are for saving every single photo. If there's a single album you want to download, or just a few pictures, these directions are a bit much. It's easy to save select pictures or albums instead; follow the steps at the bottom of this page for those directions.

Download Facebook Photos From a Computer

One way to do this is from Facebook's website on a computer. Below are those steps, or you can skip down to the next section to learn how to do this through the mobile app.

1. Select the menu button at the top right, and choose Settings & privacy, and then Settings.

2. Choose Privacy from the left panel, followed by Your Facebook Information (for profiles), or Facebook Page Information (for pages).

3. Select Download Profile Information.
   

4. Pick a format (HTML or JSON), quality (high, medium, or low), and date range from the menus. For example, HTML, High, and All time.

5. Unless you want to download everything you can possibly save from your account, choose Deselect All under Select information to download.

6. Select Posts from the list. Choose Groups to download post information from the groups you belong to.

7. Scroll to the very bottom of the page and choose Request a download. After a few seconds, the button will be greyed out as Facebook prepares the download.

8. You'll receive an email and a notification on Facebook when the download is ready. Click the link in the email—it goes directly to the Available files tab on the Download Your Information page. You can also get there by clicking the notification on Facebook.
   

9. Select Download.

10. Enter your password at the prompt, and then select Confirm, and then select it again on the final prompt.

11. Choose where to save the file. You can specify a name, too, or accept the default, which is facebook-(your username).zip.

12. To access your downloaded Facebook photos, unzip the file (there are lots of file unzip utilities you can use), and then go into the \posts\media\ folder.

Download Facebook Photos From the Facebook App

The steps for saving all your Facebook photos in bulk from the app are similar to the desktop settings.

1. Go to your profile page, and then scroll to the bottom and go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.

2. Select Off-Facebook Activity on the next page, from the Security section, and then More Options > Download Your Information.

3. In the Request a copy tab, tap Deselect all, and then tap Posts so it's the only thing checked.

   You could leave everything checked if you want to save everything, but it's up to you.

4. Scroll to the very bottom of the page, and define the date range, format, and media quality that should apply to the pictures. For example, you could select All of my data, HTML, and High.

5. Tap CREATE FILE.

   You'll immediately be taken to the AVAILABLE COPIES tab of the Download Your Information screen.

6. Wait for the Pending status to go away, and then select Download. Another way to see the download button if you don't want to wait, is to watch out for an email or Facebook notification saying it's ready, and then follow the link you're given.

7. Facebook will open in your browser. Log in if asked, and then accept the download. It'll save to your phone as a ZIP file.

When to Download All Your Facebook Photos

You might wonder why you'd ever want to save all your Facebook photos to your computer instead of just keeping them online where they have been for years. There are different reasons for doing this, but the most likely is you're cancelling your Facebook account.

You don't have to lose all those precious memories you've stored in photos when you delete your Facebook account. In fact, Facebook provides a way to download all your pictures during the deletion process, because while folks might not want their Facebook account anymore, most want to keep their photos.

If you have no intention of deleting your account, you still might want to save all your Facebook photos to your computer if you plan to delete them from your account. Maybe you have some albums full of photos you no longer want your friends to see. Before erasing them, download them in bulk using the directions above.

Downloading a Single Album or Photo From Facebook

The instructions described above are not the only way Facebook lets you save your photos offline. In fact, that method is more than you need to complete if there are just a few pictures or albums you want to save.

For example, to save an album, find it in your account and use the menu button to access the Download Album button. Saving a single photo is similar; open it to its full size view, and use the three-dot menu to find the Download button.

If you're using the mobile app, open the picture you want to download, tap the three-dot menu, and then select Save to phone.

FAQ

• How do I download Facebook videos?

  To save your own Facebook videos, go to More > Videos > Your Videos and click the pencil icon. Choose the quality, and then click Download under the More menu. To download other people's Facebook videos, you'll need a third-party app.

• How do I download a Facebook Live video?

  You can grab your own, saved Facebook Live streams through the Your Videos page. For other people's, use an app like Friendly for Facebook, which gives you download options in the Share menu.

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