Unfortunately, it also means something else: it is a heaven for hackers who are looking for some fun. If you have a Facebook profile, there’s a lot that can go wrong, which is why backing up your information periodically is a good idea. Here, we will discuss about how you can go about backing up your Facebook profile.
Why would I want to back up my profile?
As I said, there is a lot that can go
wrong. First of all, your account runs the risk of being hacked. Now
once you’ve been hacked, you are completely at the hacker’s mercy. He
may delete or deactivate your account, edit your personal information,
or delete a particular piece of information etc. Indeed, these are some
of the main motives for someone hacking into your account.
If
you are about to implement changes, such as installing timeline, it is a
good idea to back up your profile first before you lose your valuable
information. Not only that, I also like to back up my Facebook profile
once in a while so that I can more easily access my old messages, wall
posts etc. If you are a regular Facebook user, I’d suggest you back up
your profile every month or so, just to be on the safe side.
How to Backup Facebook Profile?
First of all, log onto your Facebook account and click on the down arrow next to Home on the top-right of your Facebook screen. From there, click on Account Settings.
Scroll below General Account Settings such as Name, Username, Email etc and you will see an option Download a copy of your Facebook Data. Click on it.
Next, click on Start My Archive. Clicking
this will initiate the backup process. It’ll take Facebook some time to
gather all your information and Archive it. So you will have to be
patient. It may take an hour or more, depending upon the size of your
profile. Once the archiving is finished, Facebook will send you an email
with a link to download your archive. Download your archive and you’re
done :).
What is included in the back up?
The archive will back up your;- Profile information – your contact info, bio interests etc.
- Wall information – stuff that you or your friends have posted on your wall
- Friend list
- Photos and Videos you have uploaded to your account
- Comments you or your friends have made on your wall posts
- Notes
- Events to which you have replied
- Messages – sent and received
All these things will be included in the
backup. You will have to download a .zip file that contains all the
above information. In addition, you will also get an HTML page that you
can open and see all the backed up information.
Conclusion
Although this is a really useful feature,
there are some features that could have made it better. You can’t back
up information from groups and fan pages. And it is an only one way
export. You can’t import your information back to your Facebook profile.
The backed up information is for you and you alone.
Be warned though. The backed up filed
contain your sensitive information. So make sure you keep them in a
secure location. Or else, there is really no use backing your profiles.
Good luck :)
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