That became particularly salient when I discovered that my Facebook data includes a transcript of every Messenger interaction I've had, replete with any photo or video files I may have shared in those conversations.Īgain, this might not be new. "After all, shouldn't it be at least as easy to remove your history/personal information as it is for advertisers to access it?" Messenger Records "Facebook now needs to take the next step and make data deletion from its platform as easy as data access," she explains.
#FACEBOOK DOWNLOAD CHAT HISTORY HOW TO#
It's also unclear how to selectively remove that data, if at all - which could be a valuable next step for Facebook, says HubSpot Product Lead Daria Marmer. While likely a bad actor, I'm inclined to believe that Cambridge Analytica isn't alone in the way it allegedly synthesized Facebook user data to get to the root of what sort of promoted content and messaging would resonate most with people. It raises questions about just how accessible this information is, and how widespread the availability of our data might be. I had to wonder, why do the Smashing Pumpkins and Beck have my contact information? I hadn't listened to either, really, since my first year of college when - at risk of dating myself - Facebook didn't exist yet. Some of them made sense, as they were brands whose Pages I already Liked.īut some of the topics were downright irrelevant and, therefore, befuddling - like "fishing bait" and "organic compound."īut there was also a section for advertisers with my contact information, many of whom were brands and musical artists whose Pages I hadn't Liked. The "Ads" section of my data index file largely consists of an exhaustive list of ad topics that would be of interest to me. Granted, what was available on this page was largely information I voluntarily supplied to Facebook by way of putting it on my profile, like where I went to school or my birthday.īut it was in the other sections and file folders where things started to get weird - and where I started wondering what potential advertisers or others might be doing with it. Here's what the "profile" section of mine looks like, with a few sections removed for the sake of - this old thing - privacy.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/019-find-your-facebook-chat-history-1949310-41ca0ec985fd495aaf346538dcf129c7.jpg "facebook download chat history")
Open the general "index.htm," and you'll see a quick snapshot of all the data available on you, ranging from your general profile to advertisers who have your contact information.
#FACEBOOK DOWNLOAD CHAT HISTORY ARCHIVE#
When you first download a copy of your data archive and unzip it the compressed file ( here's a quick how-to), it'll look something like this: I Downloaded My Facebook Data and Things Got Weird A Snapshot As the title suggests: Things got weird, fast.Īnd if you're understandably hesitant about downloading your own data, or just considering it, here's what you can expect - and what the results mean. This file had everything - I mean, everything - from personal contact records that I don't even have stored on my iPhone anymore, to every single image I had sent someone over Messenger. The results were not exactly encouraging. I wanted to know what, exactly, those potentially in possession of my data might know about me - so despite the trepidation, I downloaded it anyway.
/messenger-and-facebook---illustration-942667894-5c64a7f7c9e77c0001d324a4.jpg "facebook download chat history")
The idea popped into my head among mounting headlines around the alleged misuse of personal Facebook user data by analytics firm Cambridge Analytica. How far does it go back? What does it contain? Who has access to it? Will it make me feel old? When I found out I could download my entire Facebook data file, the first thing I felt was fear.
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