Downloading photos from Facebook is a common task that many users want to do. There are a few different ways to download photos from Facebook, depending on if you want to download your own photos, photos you are tagged in, or photos posted by friends.
Why Download Facebook Photos?
There are several reasons you may want to download photos from Facebook:
- To save photos you’ve uploaded before deleting your Facebook account
- To backup photos from your profile or that you’re tagged in
- To repost photos on another platform or website
- To edit or print photos for personal use
- To preserve memories, events, and milestones recorded on Facebook
Downloading your Facebook photos allows you to have copies stored outside of the platform. This gives you more control over your photos and ensures you’ll still have access to them if your account is ever disabled.
How to Download Your Own Facebook Photos
If you want to download photos you’ve personally uploaded to your Facebook profile, follow these steps:
- Go to facebook.com and log into your account.
- Click on the down arrow in the top right and select “Settings”.
- On the left sidebar, click “Your Facebook Information”.
- Under “Download Your Information”, click “View”.
- Deselect all categories except “Photos and Videos”.
- Select your desired date range for photos.
- Click “Create File”. Facebook will prepare a download of your photo archive.
- You’ll receive a notification when your download file is ready. This may take a few minutes to many hours, depending on how many photos you’re downloading.
- When ready, click “Download” and save the .zip file to your computer.
- Open the file and your Facebook photo archive will be inside.
This allows you to bulk download all your personal photos from Facebook in just a few clicks. You can also repeat the process in the future to download any new photos you’ve uploaded.
How to Download Photos You’re Tagged In
In addition to your own uploads, you may also be tagged by friends in photos on Facebook. Here’s how to download these tagged photos:
- Go to your Facebook profile and click “Photos” in the left sidebar.
- In the left sidebar, click “Photos of You”.
- Here you’ll see sections for photos you’re tagged in, photos you’re tagged in by others, and profile pictures of you used by friends.
- Browse through the photo albums and use the download icon on each photo to save a copy to your computer.
- You can also click the three dots above each section and select “Download”, which will allow you to download that entire section as a .zip file.
This gives you an easy way to find and save copies of the many photos you’re tagged in by friends and family over the years. It allows you to preserve memories you’re a part of without having to track down who originally posted the photo.
How to Download Photos Posted by Friends
If you want to download photos your friends have posted that you are not tagged in, you’ll need to take an extra step:
- Go to the profile/page of the friend who posted the photo.
- Find the specific photo you want to download and click on it.
- On the photo page, click the three dots in the top right corner.
- Select “Download” which will save the photo to your computer.
Unfortunately there is no bulk download option for photos friends have posted that don’t tag you. You need to go through their profile and download photos individually. This is more time consuming, but allows you to grab copies of your friends’ photos that you’d like to keep.
Downloading Photos on Mobile
The Facebook mobile app also allows downloading photos:
- Your uploads: Go to your profile, tap the hamburger menu, choose “Media and Photos”, select an album, tap the three dots at the top, and choose “Download”.
- Photos you’re tagged in: Go to your profile, tap “Photos of You”, tap a photo, then tap the download arrow icon.
- Friends’ photos: Tap the photo from your feed, then tap the download icon.
The process is very similar on mobile as on desktop. The mobile app gives you an easy way to quickly save copies of photos while browsing Facebook on your phone.
Third-Party Download Tools
In addition to Facebook’s built-in download options, there are also several third-party tools that can download photos:
- Social Book Post Manager: Chrome extension that lets you bulk download your own uploads or photos you’re tagged in.
- FBPurity: Browser extension for Firefox and Chrome that adds a “Download Album” option.
- SaveFrom.net: Website that lets you paste a Facebook album URL and download the entire album.
These tools can provide faster bulk downloading compared to Facebook’s individual downloading process. However, keep in mind third-party apps come with privacy and security risks since you’re providing access to your Facebook account.
Tips for Downloading Facebook Photos
Here are some additional tips when downloading photos from Facebook:
- Photos will download in the highest quality available on Facebook.
- Videos can also be downloaded, not just static photos.
- Always download your own uploads before deleting your Facebook account.
- Downloaded photos can be reuploaded to other sites like Twitter, Instagram, or Google Photos for backup.
- On mobile, you may need to give the Facebook app access to your device storage to enable downloads.
- If tagged in a lot of photos, the downloads can take a long time to process.
Storing Your Downloaded Photos
Once you’ve downloaded your Facebook photos, you’ll want to make sure they’re properly stored and backed up.
Here are some options for storing your downloaded photos:
- Store them locally on your computer or external hard drive
- Use cloud storage like Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud
- Back them up to a cloud photo service like Google Photos or Flickr
- Save them to a USB flash drive or SD card
- Burn them to DVDs for long-term physical backups
Ideally, use a combination of physical storage and cloud backups. This prevents loss if a device fails and also protects against account terminations.
You may also want to organize the photos into folders by year or album. This makes it easier to browse your collection once downloaded off Facebook.
Google Photos
One popular option for storing Facebook photos is Google Photos. Here are the key benefits of Google Photos:
- 15GB of free cloud storage for photos
- Photos compressed to save storage space
- Albums feature to organize your photos
- Facial recognition to group people together
- Desktop and mobile apps for easy access
- Sharing capabilities to send photos to others
Google Photos integrates seamlessly with Android devices but also works great on iOS and the web. It’s an excellent way to backup your Facebook photo downloads while keeping them organized and searchable.
Physical Storage
You can also opt to store your Facebook photo downloads purely on physical devices like external hard drives, USB drives, or DVDs. The advantage here is you have direct control and ownership of the device. The downside is physical media can be damaged, destroyed, or lost.
If going the physical storage route, make sure to keep media in protected, fireproof, and climate controlled storage. Make multiple copies on different devices and media types. Replace drives every 2-3 years to reduce the chance of failure.
Facebook Archive
Even after downloading your photos, you may still want to keep your original Facebook archive intact. Facebook packages your photos, posts, videos, and profile info into one easy to access archive.
Benefits of storing your Facebook archive:
- Keeps photos in their original digital album structure
- Includes all meta data like titles, descriptions, comments
- Lets you browse a digital copy of your profile history
Your Facebook archive serves as a full historical record of your presence on Facebook. It’s worth hanging onto forever for both sentimental reasons and future reference.
Conclusion
Downloading your photos from Facebook is an important step in backing up your memories and taking ownership of your data. Use the built-in Facebook tools to conveniently download your own uploads, photos your tagged in, and your friends’ public photos.
Take steps to properly store the photos both physically and digitally for protection and longevity. Follow this guide to confidently download any Facebook photos you want to preserve now and in the future.