Downloading fb data for archiving

Recent upheaval around Facebook use of user data has had a lot of people asking the question: just what does Facebook know about me?

Most people know that data you put on Facebook can be seen by the social network. Much of your data is used to inform advertising preferences, but what you may not know is some of the more in-depth data, from messages, call history and all your contacts, that it can access.

There is a way to check up on what Facebook knows about you, if you dare, essentially breaking down all the information you have given to Facebook.

How to download your Facebook data

To download all the data that Facebook holds on you, log into Facebook on a computer. Here are the steps to take to see that data:

1. Open Facebook in your browser. Go to Settings and find the General tab.
2. At the bottom of this tab, you can find a link which says: "Download a copy of your Facebook data." Follow this link to find a button which says "Download your archive."
3. Click this, and Facebook will send a .zip file to your email address. Extract this file to find all your Facebook data.

Within the .zip file you can find all the data Facebook holds on your profile, including folders with links to all your Facebook profile data, including pictures, messages, friends and a full timeline of every action you have every taken on Facebook or on the Messenger app.