Before you start, make sure you are logged into the correct Facebook account on your phone. Facebook uses Meta's Accounts Centre to handle all data exports, so the process will take you through a web view at accountscenter.facebook.com. The export includes your posts, friends list, followers, messages, photos, videos, account activity, and much more. This guide walks you through every single tap from the Facebook home screen all the way to hitting the final Start export button.
Safety First
You never need to share your Facebook password with any third-party website or tool to download your data. Facebook has a fully official, built-in export system inside Meta's Accounts Centre. If any app or website claims it can show your Facebook friends, unfriends, or activity by asking you to "connect your Facebook" or log in through their platform, that is a credential risk. Do not do it. Everything in this guide stays entirely within the official Facebook app and Meta's accountscenter.facebook.com domain.
Step 1. Tap the Menu Icon
Tap the "Menu" icon in the bottom-right corner of the Facebook app.
Open the Facebook app on your iPhone or Android phone. At the very bottom of the screen, you will see five icons in the navigation bar: Home, Reels, Marketplace, Groups, Notifications, and Menu. Tap Menu on the far right. This opens Facebook's main menu page, which shows your profile, shortcuts, and access to all settings.
Step 2. Tap "Settings and privacy"
Scroll down on the Menu page and tap "Settings and privacy" to expand it.
On the Menu page, scroll down past your profile shortcuts, Meta AI, Friends, Dashboard, Saved, and Memories. You will see a section called Settings and privacy with a gear icon next to it. Tap it. The section will expand and show three options underneath: Settings, Privacy Centre, Time management, Device requests, Recent ad activity, and more. Tap Settings to go to the full settings page.
Step 3. Tap "Accounts Centre"
On the Settings and privacy page, tap "Accounts Centre" under the Your account section.
Once you are on the Settings and privacy page, look at the very top section labeled Your account. You will see Accounts Centre listed there with the Meta logo next to it. The description says "Password, security, personal details, connected experiences, ad preferences, verification." Tap Accounts Centre. This opens the Meta Accounts Centre, which is the unified hub for managing settings across all your connected Meta apps including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
Step 4. Tap "Your information and permissions"
Inside Accounts Centre, tap "Your information and permissions".
The Accounts Centre screen shows several sections: Profiles and personal details, Password and security, Connected experiences, Your information and permissions, Ad preferences, Meta Pay, Subscriptions, and Manage accounts. Tap Your information and permissions. This is the privacy and data section where Meta keeps all export, access, and search history tools.
Step 5. Tap "Export your information"
On the Your information and permissions page, tap "Export your information".
You will see three options on this page: Export your information, Access your information, and Search history. The description at the top says "To download or transfer a copy of your information, go to Export your information." Tap Export your information. Note that this option has an external link icon next to it, which means it will open in a web browser view inside the app, taking you to accountscenter.facebook.com.
Step 6. Tap "Create export"
On the Export your information page, tap the blue "Create export" button.
The Export your information page explains that you can export a copy of your information to an external service or to your device. It also shows a note saying: "Switch to a web browser and visit accountscenter.facebook.com to download your information when it's ready." Tap the blue Create export button to start the export setup process. Any past export requests will be listed below this button if you have made them before.
Step 7. Choose a Profile to Export
On the "Choose a profile" screen, tap the Facebook profile you want to export.
After tapping Create export, you will see a Choose a profile screen that lists all the Meta profiles connected to your Accounts Centre. This includes your Facebook accounts, Instagram accounts, and any other connected profiles. Tap the Facebook profile you want to download data from. If a profile shows as "Deactivated" it cannot be exported. Tap the correct active Facebook profile to continue.
Step 8. Choose "Export to device"
On the "Choose where to export" screen, tap "Export to device".
The next screen is titled Choose where to export and shows two options. The first option is Export to device, which downloads the ZIP file directly to your phone. The second option is Export to external service, which lets you send the data to Google Drive, Dropbox, or another cloud service. Tap Export to device. It is the fastest and most private option and gives you the file you need directly on your device.
Step 9. Set the Date Range and Format
On the export settings screen, make sure Date range is "All time" and Format is "JSON".
You will now land on the main export configuration screen. This screen shows your selected Facebook profile at the top labeled "Export to device · Once." Below it are several settings you can adjust. There are two very important settings to check here.
Tap Date range and select All time. This ensures your export includes all your Facebook data since the day you created your account, not just a recent period.
Tap Format and make sure JSON is selected. JSON is the correct format for data tools. If you accidentally leave it on HTML, most data reading tools will not be able to parse the file and you will have to redo the export. Always pick JSON.
You can also tap Customise information if you want to choose specific data types instead of exporting everything. By default it says "All available information excluding data logs." If you only need your friends and followers data, you can tap Customise information and select only those categories to keep the file size small.
Step 10. Tap "Start export"
Once all settings look correct, tap the blue "Start export" button at the bottom.
Review the summary on the export configuration screen one more time. You should see your Facebook profile selected, the notification email filled in under Notify, Date range set to All time, Format set to JSON, and Media quality set to Medium quality. When everything looks right, tap the blue Start export button at the bottom of the screen. Facebook will queue your export request immediately.
A note at the bottom of the screen reminds you that this file may contain private information and you should keep it secure when exporting it.
Step 11. Wait for the Email Notification
Meta will send you an email when your export is ready to download.
After tapping Start export, Meta processes your request in the background. You will receive an email at the address connected to your Facebook account when the file is ready. The screen also reminds you to switch to a web browser and visit accountscenter.facebook.com to download your information when it is ready, since downloading large files directly in the app can sometimes be unreliable. For most Facebook data exports, the file is ready within a few minutes to a few hours. Very large accounts with years of posts, photos, and videos can take longer.
Step 12. Download Your File
Open accountscenter.facebook.com in your browser, go back to Export your information, and download your file.
Once you receive the email notification, open your browser and go to accountscenter.facebook.com. Sign in if needed, then go to Your information and permissions, tap Export your information, and you will see your completed export listed there ready to download. Tap it and save the ZIP file to your device.
Troubleshooting
You do not see the profile you want in the Choose a profile screen. Make sure the profile is connected to your Accounts Centre. Deactivated or deleted profiles cannot be exported. If a profile is missing, check that it is properly linked inside Accounts Centre under Profiles and personal details.
You accidentally chose HTML instead of JSON. Start a new export request and select JSON in the Format step. The HTML file will not work with most data tools.
The email notification never arrived. Check your spam or junk folder. If it has been more than 24 hours, go back to accountscenter.facebook.com, navigate to Export your information, and check if the download is available there directly without waiting for the email.
You want to download only friends or followers data. Tap Customise information in Step 9 and select only the Friends and followers category. This will keep the export file very small and fast to generate.
The download link in the browser has expired. Facebook export links do not stay active forever. If your link expired, go back to accountscenter.facebook.com and tap Create export again to start a fresh request.
What to Do With Your Facebook Data
Once you have the ZIP file saved on your device, you can open it to review everything Meta has stored about your Facebook account. The JSON files inside will contain your complete friends list, your followers and following data, your posts and comments history, your photos and videos, your messages, your ad preferences, your account activity logs, and much more depending on what you chose to export. If you are using a tool that reads Facebook friend data, drop the ZIP file into that tool and it will process everything locally inside your browser without uploading your data to any external server.