Finding old Facebook posts can be tricky, especially if you don’t remember exact details like who you were talking to or what the post was about. Fortunately, Facebook provides some useful tools to help you search for and filter previous posts by date and refined criteria.
Searching Facebook for Old Posts
The easiest way to find old Facebook posts is to use the search bar at the top of your Facebook page. Here are some tips for searching:
- Use keywords and names of people/pages to find posts you exchanged with specific individuals.
- Enter a date or date range if you remember around when you made the post.
- Try location names if you made a post while at a certain place.
- Search for exact phrases or snippets of text from the post.
- Use post types like “photos”, “videos”, “links” if you know the format.
Facebook’s search tool will scan all posts on your timeline for matches. You can then scroll through your results to find the specific post(s) you’re looking for.
Filtering By Date and Refining Your Search
If your initial search returns too many results, you can filter by date and refine the search to narrow it down. Here’s how:
- Click “Filters” under the search bar after running a search.
- Select a date range like “Posts from [Year]” or “Posts from [Month/Year]”.
- Pick specific people or pages to only see posts involving them.
- Choose post types, like photos, videos, links, etc.
- Click “Search” to apply the filters.
The results will update, showing only posts matching your filtered criteria. Try experimenting with different date ranges and filters to keep honing in on the old post(s) you want to find.
Using the On This Day Feature
Facebook’s “On This Day” feature highlights posts and memories from previous years on the same day/date. You may be able to find old posts using:
- The On This Day feed on your homepage sidebar.
- The “Memories” tab in your shortcuts menu.
- The “On This Day” expandable menu at the top of News Feed.
Click on any memory posts to open and re-read them. You can also change the date in On This Day to jump to specific days/years.
Checking Your Activity Log
For a comprehensive list of all your Facebook activity, access your Activity Log in Settings. Here you can:
- Filter by date range to see your complete history for any time period.
- Search for keywords and names to find related posts.
- Click post timestamps to open and view them.
- See everything including posts, reactions, comments, searches, and more.
Your full Activity Log makes it easy to dive back through your Facebook history and uncover forgotten posts.
Browsing Your Timeline by Year
You can manually browse your timeline by year which makes skimming for old posts much easier. Just click on the date headings on your profile page to jump to specific years. Or try this shortcut:
- Go to your timeline/profile page
- Click on the date in the intro section e.g. “Joined December 2009”
- A menu will pop up letting you jump to timeline posts from specific years.
You’ll see highlighted stories and the ability to scroll through everything you posted year-by-year. Use this to glance back through your history and jog your memory about old posts you made.
Checking Photos and Videos
If you’re looking for a specific photo or video but don’t remember the date, try browsing your albums and videos. Go to:
- Photos tab > Albums to see all your uploaded image collections.
- Videos tab > Videos on Your Timeline to browse all video posts.
Facebook sorts your media chronologically, so this can make it easier to visually scan for old content you posted. Photos and videos also surface as On This Day memories.
Using the Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine from Archive.org takes “snapshots” of websites over time. You can use it to see what your Facebook timeline looked like in the past. To try finding old posts:
- Go to archive.org/web/
- Enter https://www.facebook.com/yourusername where yourusername is your profile name.
- Choose a date range in the calendar to see options.
- Click on a timestamped archive link to open it.
- You’ll see your profile as it appeared on that date.
The Wayback Machine doesn’t always capture everything accurately, but it can help uncover old posts through past versions of your profile.
Retrieving Deleted Posts
If a post no longer appears on your Facebook timeline, it may have been deleted. But you might still be able to retrieve it:
- Activity Log – Check your activity history as posts often still appear there for a period of time after deletion.
- Download your information – Request an archive of your Facebook data, which can contain deleted posts for up to 90 days.
- On This Day emails – If you get On This Day emails, they include snapshots that could have the deleted post.
Keep in mind Facebook does eventually purge deleted posts completely from its system, so recover them as soon as possible using the methods above.
Using Third-Party Tools
Some third-party tools and browser extensions can help you find and manage old Facebook posts as well:
| Tool | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Social Book Post Manager | Saves and lets you search through your Facebook history. |
| DownAlbum | Downloads your Facebook photos to your computer. |
| Social Book Post/Page Saver | Extracts your posts for backup and searching. |
| Wayback Machine Browser Extensions | Lets you view archived versions of web pages. |
These tools provide alternate ways to search through your Facebook history and recover old content.
Searching Within Groups
If you made an old post in a Facebook group, you’ll need to search for it within that specific group:
- Go to the group page.
- Click “Search this group” at the top.
- Enter keywords, names, dates, etc. to filter posts.
- Use filters like date ranges to narrow it down.
- Scroll through results to find your old post.
You can only see posts made within a group while on that group’s page itself. Use date filters and an accurate keyword or phrase to pinpoint the one you’re looking for.
Contacting Facebook Support
If you still can’t locate a specific lost post through any method, you can try contacting Facebook support. Describe the post details and when it was made, and ask if they can help recover it.
Keep in mind Facebook may not always have old post data available, especially if it was deleted. But for unique situations, their team may be able to assist further in digging up lost posts.
Conclusion
Finding old Facebook posts requires using tools like search, filters, On This Day, and your Activity Log. Look for specific keywords, names, dates, and media types that relate to the post. Go through your timeline year-by-year and browse photos/videos to jog your memory. If all else fails, see if support can recover a deleted post for you. With the right techniques, you can unearth old Facebook memories.