Complete Guide · Updated June 2026

How to Save Your Facebook Photos Before Deleting Your Account

You've made your decision. Before you go, take your photos and videos with you — because once the account is deleted, they're gone for good. Here's how to save everything cleanly.

What you'll lose if you don't save first

Deleting your Facebook account is permanent. After a 30-day grace period, everything is gone from Facebook's servers — and there's no way to retrieve it afterward. That includes:

• Every photo you've posted — including ones going back years, before you had a phone with cloud backup
• Every video — birthday clips, family gatherings, moments that only exist on Facebook
• Photos others tagged you in — note: you can only download your own posts, not photos others uploaded; those stay on their accounts
• Albums and captions — the context that makes photos meaningful

If you've been on Facebook since the mid-2000s, there may be a decade or more of photos that exist nowhere else. The download takes a few hours. It's worth it.

Step-by-step: request your Facebook archive

Facebook's data download tool is called Download Your Information (DYI). Here's how to use it:

1. 1
   Go to facebook.com/dyiOr find it by going to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Your Facebook information → Download your information.
2. 2
   Select "Photos and videos"You can also choose "All available information" to get your posts, messages, and more — but if you only want media, pick Photos and videos to keep the file size manageable.
3. 3
   Set the date range and formatLeave the date range as "All time." Choose HTML for easier browsing or JSON if you plan to use the archive with other software. Either format includes the actual media files.
4. 4
   Set media quality to HighThis is important — the default may not be highest quality. Select High before submitting so you get the best available resolution.
5. 5
   Request the downloadClick "Request a download." Facebook will email you and send a notification when the file is ready — usually within a few hours, up to a few days for large accounts.
6. 6
   Download and verify the ZIPWhen the link arrives, download the file and open it to confirm your photos are actually there. Don't delete your account until you've done this.

What the archive contains

Your Facebook archive is a ZIP file containing folders of your content. The media files are standard JPGs and MP4s — not proprietary formats — so they'll open in any photo viewer or app. What you get:

• Photos and videos — your actual media files, at the quality you selected
• Posts and captions — the text you wrote alongside photos
• Albums — your photos organized into the albums you created
• Profile and cover photos — your full history of profile pictures
• Messages, friends list, and more — if you selected "All available information"

One thing to know: the archive can be large. Accounts with years of activity often produce several gigabytes across multiple ZIP files. Facebook will sometimes split the download — if you see "Part 1 of 3," you need all parts.

Turn the archive into a gallery you'll actually use

A folder of files organized by year and album is a backup. It's better than nothing, but it's not a place you'll revisit. If you want to stay connected to the memories you're taking with you, it helps to give them a real home.

After you've saved everything — then delete

Once your archive is downloaded and you've confirmed the files are intact, you're ready to delete. To permanently delete your Facebook account:

1. 1
   Go to Settings & Privacy → SettingsThen scroll to "Your Facebook information."
2. 2
   Click "Deactivation and deletion"Choose "Delete account" — not deactivation, which just hides your profile temporarily.
3. 3
   Continue and confirmFacebook will ask you to log in again and confirm. After you confirm, there's a 30-day grace period during which you can cancel if you change your mind.

Deactivating vs. deleting: deactivating hides your profile but keeps your data on Facebook's servers — your photos are still there, and you can reactivate anytime. Deleting is permanent. Either way, your downloaded archive stays with you.

Frequently Asked Questions