With Facebook becoming less popular among younger generations, many long-time users are looking to delete their accounts. However, most people have years of photos and other memories stored on the platform that they don’t want to lose. So how can you save all those old albums before deleting Facebook for good?
Why Save Facebook Albums?
For many of us, Facebook has been the go-to place to store photos and life events over the past decade or more. Even if you’ve stopped actively using Facebook, chances are you still have important memories documented there in the form of photos, videos, and albums. Here are some key reasons to save your Facebook albums before deleting your account:
- Preserve memories and important life events like weddings, births, graduations, etc.
- Keep photos and videos of friends and family who may no longer be in your life
- Hang onto fun trips, concerts, and other experiences you want to reminisce about
- Avoid losing precious moments if Facebook ever has data loss issues or gets hacked
- Pass down your digital photo collection to children or grandchildren someday
How to Download Facebook Albums
Luckily, Facebook provides an easy way for users to download a copy of everything they’ve posted, including all photos, videos, and photo albums. Here’s a step-by-step guide to downloading your Facebook albums before deleting your account:
- Go to your Facebook Settings and click on “Your Facebook Information” in the left menu.
- On the “Your Facebook Information” page, click “View” next to “Photos and Videos.”
- In the popup box, select “Medium” or “High” quality for your photo downloads.
- Click the blue “Create File” button to start the download process.
- Facebook will compile all your photos, videos, and albums into a downloadable ZIP file.
- Once the file is ready, you’ll get a notification from Facebook. Go back to “Your Facebook Information” and click “Download” to get the ZIP file.
- Save the ZIP file to your computer hard drive or an external storage device.
- Unzip the file to access your photos and albums.
And that’s it! Just those few steps will allow you to download a complete archive of your Facebook albums that you can then access even after deleting your account. The download tool provides photos in high enough resolution for printing and sharing. Just beware the ZIP file will be very large if you’ve been actively using Facebook for many years.
How to Preserve Album Metadata
When you download your Facebook photos and videos, the files will be organized into folders based on the date they were posted. However, all the album titles, descriptions, tags, locations, etc. from Facebook do not carry over. Here are some tips for preserving the metadata from your albums when saving the files:
- Before downloading your archive, go through your Facebook albums and take screenshots of the album titles, descriptions, locations, dates, etc. This will give you the information needed to re-create the albums.
- Make a spreadsheet listing each album name, description, start/end date, location, and list of people tagged. This will act like a metadata guide you can reference.
- Use photo organizing software like Adobe Lightroom CC to add titles, descriptions, dates, locations and tags to your downloaded albums based on your metadata reference.
- Look into digitization software like Digi.me or Movrr that claim to export Facebook data with metadata intact.
While Facebook’s download tool doesn’t directly provide metadata, taking some notes before deleting your account can help you preserve important context about your albums.
Where to Store Your Downloaded Albums
Once you’ve downloaded your Facebook albums, you’ll want to move them to a permanent storage solution where they’ll remain safe, secure, and backed up. Here are some of the best options for storing your downloaded albums:
External Hard Drive or SSD
An external hard drive or solid state drive (SSD) is one of the most convenient options for storing your Facebook photos and videos. Look for a portable external drive with at least 1TB of storage from a reputable brand like Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung, etc.
Personal Cloud Storage
Services like Google Photos, Dropbox, iCloud and OneDrive allow you to upload your media library and access it from anywhere. Most provide 1TB or more of free storage with paid plans available for extra space.
Online Photo Books
Turn your favorite albums into professionally printed photo books through sites like Shutterfly, Snapfish, Mixbook, and Artifact Uprising. Photo books keep your albums both tangible and digital.
Local Computer/Devices
You can also store downloaded Facebook albums locally on your computer hard drive or mobile devices. Just make sure you have backups in case of device failure or loss. Sync files across devices using cloud storage.
Physical Photo Prints
For extra nostalgia, turn select Facebook albums into physical photo prints. Local photo labs like Walmart, CVS, and Costco offer affordable print packages. Or order prints online from Amazon Prints, Snapfish, Shutterfly, etc.
| Storage Option | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| External Hard Drive/SSD | – Inexpensive storage – Faster access – Full control over files |
– Require manual backups – Can fail or get damaged – Not accessible from other devices |
| Cloud Storage | – Access files anywhere – Automated backups – File syncing between devices |
– Monthly fees for more storage – Require internet connection |
| Photo Books | – Physical memento – Professional printing – Shareable |
– Can be expensive – Limited number of photos |
| Local Computer/Devices | – Full control over files – No recurring fees |
– No offsite backup – Not accessible from other devices |
| Photo Prints | – Tangible photos – Nostalgic – Decorate home |
– No digital files – Costs add up quickly |
How to Re-Create Facebook Albums
Once you’ve saved your Facebook photos locally, you can recreate the album organization using a few different methods:
- Photo organizing software – Use Lightroom, Apple Photos, Google Photos or similar programs to manually recreate album names, descriptions, tags, etc.
- Social media – Upload your photos to Google Photos, Flickr or Instagram and recreate your albums there, if you plan to remain active on other social platforms.
- Cloud storage – Services like Dropbox allow you to create albums and galleries from your uploaded photos.
- Hard drive organization – Use your computer’s file manager to create folders and organize based on Facebook albums.
- Photo books – Print books with your favorite Facebook albums through an online service.
The method you choose will depend on how you plan to access and interact with your photos going forward. Using photo software gives you the most flexibility, while online options retain the social sharing aspects.
Other Options for Preserving Facebook Data
In addition to downloading your photos and albums, there may be other Facebook data you want to save before deleting your account:
- Posts and statuses – Your Facebook archive includes a file with all your posts and statuses. You can save this for memories or even print it into a book.
- Profile info – Download your personal info like bio, work history, education, etc. Some services will port this info to other social networks.
- Friends list – Save a list of your Facebook friends using social media management tools to help reconnect.
- Private messages – Facebook includes your private messages in the account download. Save sentimental chats and conversations.
Conclusion
Leaving Facebook but want to keep your precious photo memories? Thankfully with Facebook’s download tool, it’s easy and straightforward to save a copy of all your albums before deleting your account. Just be sure to also save important metadata right from Facebook so you can correctly organize your photos outside of the platform. Storing the downloaded albums on an external hard drive, cloud storage service, printed photo books, or even just your local computer will allow you to continue accessing those memories without Facebook. Finally, utilizing photo software, social media, and photo products can help you recreate the album experience.