Facebook allows users to download a copy of their data, including their friends list. This can be useful for keeping a record of your connections or using the data for other purposes outside of Facebook.
Why Would You Want to Download Your Facebook Friends List?
There are a few key reasons why someone may want to download their full friends list from Facebook:
- To have a backup of your connections. If you ever deactivate your Facebook account, you’ll still have a record of your friends.
- To import your contacts into another service. You can upload your Facebook friends to another social media platform or address book.
- To analyze your friends and connections. You can examine your friends list to see how many you really interact with, where they’re located, etc.
- For marketing purposes. Businesses may want to download their Facebook friends to segment audiences for ads or other initiatives.
So in summary, downloading your Facebook friends list gives you a portable copy you can use outside of Facebook for various purposes.
How to Download Your Facebook Friends List
Downloading your full friends list from Facebook takes just a few steps:
- Go to your Facebook settings page by clicking the down arrow in the top right and choosing “Settings & Privacy.”
- In the left menu, click “Your Facebook Information.”
- Look for the “Download Your Information” header and click “View.”
- Deselect all categories except “Friends.”
- Choose your desired file format – HTML or JSON. JSON will give you a simpler list.
- Click the blue “Create File” button.
Facebook will now compile your friends list for you. It may take up to a few hours for your download to be ready, depending on how many friends you have.
Check Back to Download Your File
Once your Facebook friends list is compiled, you’ll get a notification that your download file is ready. Here’s how to access it:
- Go back to “Your Facebook Information” in your settings.
- You should see your friends list download file with a “Download” button next to it.
- Click the “Download” button and your friends list will download to your computer.
Be sure to check your email spam folder too in case the notification from Facebook gets filtered there.
What Information Is Included in Your Facebook Friends List?
The friend list file you download from Facebook will include these details for each of your friends:
- Name
- Facebook ID
- Date the friend was added
- Any friend list categories you have assigned
It does not include any additional profile information beyond those basic details.
How to Convert Your Facebook Friends List
Facebook provides your friends list in HTML or JSON format. You may want to convert it into a spreadsheet format like Excel for easier viewing and sorting. Here are two options:
Use CometDocs to Convert to Excel
CometDocs is a free online converter tool. To use it:
- Go to https://www.cometdocs.com
- Click the “Add File” button and select your Facebook friends list HTML or JSON file.
- Choose the XLSX or CSV format to convert to.
- Click the blue “Convert” button. When it finishes, download your converted Excel file.
Use Python
For developers, you can parse the JSON file and convert it to a CSV format using Python. Here is some sample code:
import json
import csv
# Load JSON file
with open('friends.json') as f:
data = json.load(f)
# Open CSV file for writing
csv_file = open('friends.csv', 'w')
csv_writer = csv.writer(csv_file)
# Write headers
csv_writer.writerow(['Name', 'Facebook ID', 'Friend Since'])
# Loop through JSON objects and write rows
for friend in data['friends']:
name = friend['name']
id = friend['id']
date_added = friend['date_added']
csv_writer.writerow([name, id, date_added])
csv_file.close()
This parses the JSON file, loops through the friends, and writes the data to a CSV file which you can then open in Excel or other spreadsheet software.
What If a Friend Doesn’t Appear in Your List?
If you notice one or more of your Facebook friends are missing from the downloaded list, there are a couple possible reasons:
- They may have recently unfriended or blocked you on Facebook. Your downloaded friends list only reflects your current friend connections.
- There could have been a glitch in Facebook’s system that caused them not to show up. Try downloading your friends list again later.
- They might have their friend info set to private. Facebook excludes private profiles from friends list downloads.
If you think the friend should still be connected to you, the easiest way to check is by visiting their profile page on Facebook. If you can still view their profile normally, then the issue is likely just a temporary glitch with the download.
Limits on Downloading Your Facebook Friends
Facebook does impose some limits on downloading your friends list:
- You can only request your friends list download once per day.
- The download will time out after a few days if not downloaded.
- You can only download information for confirmed friends who have accepted your request.
As long as you follow Facebook’s guidelines, you should be able to access a fresh download of your friends list as often as daily.
Other Ways to Export Facebook Friends
Downloading your full friends list isn’t the only way to access your Facebook friends. Here are a couple other options:
Facebook Friend Exporter Browser Extension
Several browser extensions like Social Book Post Manager can export your Facebook friends to a CSV file with one click. The benefit is convenience, but the downside is the extensions often collect your data.
Facebook API
For developers, Facebook offers an API to request a user’s friend list data. However, this now requires approval for user data access requests.
Tip for Downloading Friends from Messenger
What about seeing who you chat with on Facebook Messenger? You can also request an archive of your Messenger data:
- Go to your Facebook Settings.
- Click “Your Facebook Information.”
- Click “Download Your Information.”
- Select “Messenger.”
- Click “Create File.”
When the Messenger archive is ready, open the “participants” JSON file it contains. This will list the Facebook IDs of all your recent Messenger contacts.
Should You Share Your Facebook Friends List?
While Facebook allows users to download their friends list, you should be cautious about sharing that data further. Here are a few privacy considerations:
- Your friends may not want their information shared without consent.
- Sharing friend data could violate Facebook’s Data Policy if used improperly.
- The list reveals connections & relationships that friends may want kept private.
- Facebook friend data can be exploited by bad actors for social engineering scams.
In summary, it’s best to keep your Facebook friends list to yourself and not share or post it publicly online without permission.
Conclusion
Downloading your Facebook friends list is straightforward – simply use Facebook’s “Download Your Information” tool. This gives you a backup of your friends and lets you utilize the data in spreadsheet form. However, be mindful of privacy and only use the friend data for personal purposes. With over 2 billion connections, Facebook friendships are powerful data!