How to download cover photo from Facebook for private account?

Facebook cover photos allow users to customize the header image that appears at the top of their profile. For private accounts, downloading your own cover photo or someone else’s can be tricky since these images are not publicly accessible. Fortunately, there are a few methods to save a Facebook cover photo from a private profile.

Why Download Someone’s Private Cover Photo?

There are a few main reasons you may want to download a private Facebook cover photo:

To save a cover photo you like for personal use as wallpaper, a screensaver, etc.

To preserve a friend’s cover photo for sentimental reasons, like an old vacation photo
To view a larger high-quality version of the cover photo
To use the cover photo for a gift, collage, or other creative project

Of course, you should always respect others’ privacy and get permission before downloading their private cover photo.

Methods to Download a Private Facebook Cover Photo

Use the Facebook Mobile App

The Facebook mobile app makes it easy to save a cover photo from a private profile to your device’s camera roll:

Open the Facebook app on your iPhone or Android phone.

Go to the profile page of the person whose cover photo you want to download.
Tap on the cover photo to open it full screen.
Tap and hold on the photo until a menu pops up.

Select “Save Photo” or “Save to Photos.”

The high-resolution cover photo will be saved to your camera roll. You can then access it in your Photos app.

Use an Online Facebook Cover Photo Downloader

There are also a few online tools and apps that allow you to enter a Facebook profile URL and download the cover photo:

FBCoverPhoto.com – Insert a profile link and click “Download Cover”
DownloadFBCovers.com – Paste a link to download
Social Book Cover Photo Downloader Chrome extension

These tools should work on most private profiles, but results can vary depending on the user’s specific privacy settings.

Use Photoshop or Inspect Element

For more tech-savvy users, you can use Photoshop or your browser’s Inspect Element to get a private cover photo. Here’s how:

On your computer, go to the person’s Facebook profile page.

Right click and select “Inspect Element” (Chrome) or “Inspect” (Firefox).
In the HTML, look for the img tag with the full cover photo URL.
Copy the image URL and paste it into a new browser tab to open the full photo.

Right click and save the image to your computer.

Alternatively, you can open the profile page in Photoshop. Navigate to the cover photo layer and export just that image to save it.

Other Ways to Get Someone’s Private Cover Photo

If the above methods don’t work, there are a couple other options to obtain a private Facebook cover image:

Ask permission – The easiest way is to just ask the person to send you the original cover photo file.
Use a different device while logged into their account – If you can briefly log into their Facebook account on your phone or computer, you can save the cover photo through the app or download it.

However, both of these require you to have access to the person’s account and explicit permission to download their photo.

Other Facebook Images You Can Download

Beyond just cover photos, there are a few other types of images on private Facebook profiles you can save:

Profile picture – Facebook profile pictures are always public. Right click and select “Save image as.”
Shared images – You can save images a user shared to their Timeline the same way.

Photos of you – If the user tagged you, you can go to Photos of You and save any images.

However, private albums and non-shared photos will not be accessible for download without permission to the account.

Ethical Considerations

Before you go downloading someone’s private Facebook cover photo, make sure to consider:

Does this image contain personal, embarrassing, or intimate content?
Would the user be upset if they knew I was saving it?
Do I actually have a reasonable purpose for downloading it?

Have I asked the user for consent first?

In general, it’s best to refrain from excessively viewing or spreading private images without the subject’s approval. Always respect others’ privacy.

Conclusion

While not immediately obvious, you actually can download cover photos from private Facebook profiles through the mobile app, online tools, Photoshop, Inspect Element, and other methods. However, it’s important to exercise good judgement and respect privacy before taking or sharing images you don’t own the rights to. With the right approach, you can obtain private Facebook cover photos for legitimate personal use.