Downloading your data from both Facebook and Google

Iv’e been backing up my Facebook data for years this way, and since I’ve recently started using Google more, I decided it was time to start backing up that data too.  Of course, even if you don’t care about backups, you might still be interested in what they actually have one you, this will give you a chance to review that.

The actual process is very simple for both, but you have to know were to start.

Facebook

To download the whole of your facebook account, log in to it, then go to settings, then click on the link toward the bottom that says Download a Copy …
After that, you’ll have this screen, just click the Star my Archive button:

 

Enter your password when prompted:

And that’s it! You are good to go!

 

 

Google

Log into myaccount.google.com, and click on Control your content

 

Click on CREATE ARCHIVE
 
Select what you want to download

 

The select the file format ( I use tgz since it’s a native UNIX/Linux format ) and that I want an email sent

And that’s it …

What happens next?

Once the archives are ready, you will get an email with a link you can use to download them. Just click on the link and follow any instructions.
I actually have a reminder to do that once every three months.  Depending on how much stuff you have, it shouldn’t take more than a few hundred megs to a gig or two of space for each archive.

Another thing to note: if you have anything flagged as copyrighted on youtube, it wont be included in your archive.

UPDATE 2016-03-30: Updated the instructions for Google as they’ve changed slightly.

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