How to download all photos from Facebook
You download all photos from Facebook through Meta's Download Your Information tool—the only reliable way to grab your entire photo library at once. I used it last year before deleting an old account: 4,200 photos, about 18 GB, delivered as a ZIP file roughly 36 hours after I requested it. Below: exact settings to pick, what format to choose, and what to do when the export skips tagged photos or album covers.
Why bulk download beats saving one photo at a time
Tapping Save photo on 200 vacation pictures works for three images. It does not work for a decade of uploads, tagged shots from friends, or album art you uploaded in 2014.
| Method | Best for | Time for 1,000 photos |
|---|---|---|
| Long-press Save (mobile) | One public image | Hours of tapping |
| Right-click Save (desktop) | Single full-res shot | Same problem at scale |
| Download Your Information | Your entire library | One request, wait, unzip |
Videozify does not offer a Facebook photo downloader—we focus on YouTube and file-based video tools. For Facebook photos, Meta's own export is the path that won't get your account flagged.
Method 1: Download Your Information (official bulk export)
This pulls photos you uploaded, plus metadata about tags and albums. It does not always include every photo someone else posted where you're tagged—that depends on their privacy settings.
On desktop (fastest setup):
- Go to facebook.com/settings and log in.
- Click Your Facebook Information in the left sidebar.
- Select Download Your Information (or Download profile information on newer layouts).
- Choose Specific types of information and check Photos and videos only—unless you also want posts and messages in the same ZIP.
- Set Date range to All of my data if you want everything.
- Pick Media quality: High for originals (bigger file); Medium if storage is tight.
- Choose HTML for browsing in a browser, or JSON if you plan to import into another app.
- Click Request download. Meta emails you when the file is ready—often within a few hours, sometimes 1–3 days for huge accounts.
On iPhone or Android:
- Open the Facebook app → Menu (☰) → Settings & privacy → Settings.
- Scroll to Your Facebook Information → Download Your Information.
- Follow the same toggles: Photos and videos, date range, quality, format.
- Submit the request. You'll get a notification when the ZIP is ready to download.
The download link expires after a few days. Grab it promptly and move the ZIP to a hard drive or cloud backup.
What's inside the ZIP file
Open the folder and you'll typically see:
- your_facebook_activity/posts/ — photos attached to timeline posts
- photos_and_videos/ — albums you created
- profile_pictures/ — current and past profile pics
File names are often hashes, not "beach_2019.jpg." Sort by date modified inside the folder, or use the HTML index file to click through chronologically.
A 10-year account with 3,000 photos at high quality might land between 8 GB and 25 GB. Plan disk space before you unzip on a 128 GB laptop.
Method 2: Album-by-album (when you only need one set)
If you need every photo from a single album—not your whole account:
- Open the album on Facebook.
- On desktop, some albums let you Download album from the ⋯ menu (availability varies; Meta has rolled this in and out).
- If that button is missing, open each photo full-screen and save individually, or run a partial DYI export with a date range that matches the album.
I use album download when a client wants one event folder. I use full DYI when someone is leaving Facebook entirely.
What you cannot bulk-download
Be realistic about limits:
- Private photos on someone else's profile — not yours to export.
- Photos removed by Facebook for policy violations — gone from DYI too.
- Messenger photos — separate checkbox in DYI under Messages if you need those.
- Deleted posts — if you deleted the post, the photo may not appear in a new export.
No third-party "Facebook photo ripper" fixes privacy walls. They either scrape public thumbnails (low quality) or ask for your password (walk away).
After you have the files
Rename folders if you want—Windows and Mac don't care. Back up to iCloud, Google Drive, or an external SSD. If any exported items are videos mixed with photos, and you need a smaller file for email, upload the video to Videozify's video compressor after you've saved it locally. That tool works on files you already have; it does not pull from Facebook URLs.
Legal note (short version)
Downloading your data through Meta's tool is what the platform provides. Saving someone else's photos without permission can violate copyright and Facebook's Terms. Personal backup of your uploads is the intended use case.
Conclusion
Request Download Your Information, select photos at high quality, wait for the ZIP, back it up. That's the real answer to how to download all photos from facebook—not a browser extension that wants your password.
Already exported Facebook videos too? Shrink large MP4 files with our free video compressor—upload the file from your computer, no account required.