Download Facebook Contacts 2023: A Complete Guide
Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with over 2.8 billion monthly active users as of December 2020. If you are one of them, you might have hundreds or even thousands of friends and contacts on Facebook that you want to keep in touch with. But what if you want to download or sync your Facebook contacts with your phone or email for backup, convenience, or other purposes? Is it possible and how can you do it?
In this article, we will show you why and how to download Facebook contacts in 2023, using the latest methods and tools available. We will also cover the benefits and risks of downloading Facebook contacts, as well as some tips on how to manage and edit your downloaded or synced contacts. By the end of this article, you will have a complete guide on how to download Facebook contacts in 2023.
Why download Facebook contacts?
Before we dive into the how-to part, let’s first understand why you might want to download Facebook contacts in the first place. There are several reasons why downloading Facebook contacts can be useful or necessary for you, such as:
- Backup: Downloading Facebook contacts can help you create a backup of your important contacts in case you lose access to your Facebook account, or if Facebook shuts down or deletes your account for some reason. Having a backup of your contacts can also help you recover them if you accidentally delete them from your phone or email.
- Convenience: Downloading Facebook contacts can make it easier for you to contact your friends and family without having to open the Facebook app or website every time. You can also use your downloaded contacts to send emails, make calls, or send messages using other apps or services.
- Integration: Downloading Facebook contacts can help you integrate your social media and personal or professional networks. You can use your downloaded contacts to connect with your friends and colleagues on other platforms, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. You can also use your downloaded contacts to invite them to events, webinars, newsletters, or other opportunities.
However, downloading Facebook contacts also comes with some risks and limitations that you should be aware of before proceeding. These include:
- Privacy: Downloading Facebook contacts can expose your personal information and that of your friends and contacts to potential hackers, scammers, or malicious actors. If you download your Facebook data, make sure you store it securely and do not share it with anyone you do not trust. If you sync your Facebook contacts with your phone or email, make sure you use a strong password and enable two-factor authentication to protect your accounts.
- Accuracy: Downloading Facebook contacts may not give you the most accurate or updated information about your friends and contacts. Some people may change their names, phone numbers, email addresses, or other details on Facebook without notifying you. Some people may also deactivate or delete their Facebook accounts, making their information unavailable or obsolete.
- Compatibility: Downloading Facebook contacts may not be compatible with all devices, apps, or services that you want to use them with. Some devices, apps, or services may have different formats, requirements, or limitations for importing or exporting contacts. Some devices, apps, or services may also not support syncing or updating your contacts automatically.
How to download Facebook contacts in 2023?
Now that you know why
Now that you know why you might want to download Facebook contacts, let’s see how you can do it in 2023. There are two main ways to download Facebook contacts: downloading a copy of your information on Facebook, or syncing your Facebook contacts with your iPhone or Android device. We will explain both methods in detail below.
Download a copy of your information on Facebook
One way to download Facebook contacts is to request and download a copy of your information on Facebook. This is a feature that Facebook provides to let you access and download all the data that Facebook has about you, including your contacts, posts, messages, photos, videos, comments, likes, reactions, groups, events, pages, apps, ads, and more. You can choose what data you want to download and in what format. You can also choose the date range and the quality of the media files.
To request and download a copy of your information on Facebook, follow these steps:
Steps to request and download your Facebook data for your profile
- Go to facebook.com/settings and click on Your Facebook Information in the left sidebar.
- Click on Download Your Information.
- Select the data categories that you want to download. To download only your contacts, uncheck all the boxes except Friends. You can also click on Show more to see more data categories.
- Select the format of your download file. You can choose between HTML or JSON. HTML is easier to view in a web browser, while JSON is easier to process by other applications.
- Select the media quality of your download file. You can choose between High, Medium, or Low. Higher quality means larger file size and longer download time.
- Select the date range of your download file. You can choose between All of my data, Last year, Last 6 months, Last 3 months, or Last month.
- Click on Create File. Facebook will start preparing your download file and notify you when it is ready.
- Go to facebook.com/dyi and click on Available Copies.
- Click on Download next to the file that you requested. You may need to enter your password to confirm.
- Save the file to your computer or device. The file will be in a ZIP format, so you will need to extract it to access the data inside.
What data can you download from Facebook?
The data that you can download from Facebook depends on the data categories that you select in step 3 above. For each data category, you will get a folder with different files inside. For example, if you select Friends, you will get a folder called friends, which contains two files: friends.json and received_friend_requests.json. The first file contains a list of all your friends on Facebook, along with their names, IDs, and timestamps of when you became friends. The second file contains a list of all the friend requests that you received on Facebook, along with their names, IDs, and timestamps of when they sent the requests.
You can open the JSON files with a text editor or a JSON viewer. You can also import them into other applications that support JSON format. However, some data may not be easy to read or understand without additional context or processing. For example, the IDs are numerical codes that represent the unique identifiers of each user on Facebook. To find out who they are, you will need to use the Graph API or other tools. Alternatively, you can use the HTML format instead of JSON, which will give you more user-friendly and interactive files.
How to access and manage your downloaded data?
To access and manage your downloaded data from Facebook, you will need to extract the ZIP file that you downloaded in step 10 above. To do this, follow these steps:
- Locate the ZIP file on your computer or device. It should have a name like facebook-yourname.zip, where yourname is your Facebook username.
- Right-click on the ZIP file and select Extract All. Choose a destination folder where you want to save the extracted files.
- Open the destination folder and double-click on the file called index.html. This will open a web page in your browser that shows an overview of your downloaded data
Open the destination folder and double-click on the file called index.html. This will open a web page in your browser that shows an overview of your downloaded data.
On the web page, you can see a list of all the data categories that you downloaded, along with the file size and the number of files for each category. You can also click on each category to see more details and access the files inside. For example, if you click on Friends, you will see a table with all your friends’ names, profile pictures, and timestamps of when you became friends. You can also click on each friend’s name to see their profile page on Facebook.
You can also use the search bar at the top of the web page to find specific data or keywords in your downloaded data. For example, if you type in “contact”, you will see all the data categories that contain the word “contact”, such as Contact Info, Address Books, or Contacts You’ve Uploaded. You can also type in a friend’s name or email address to find their information in your downloaded data.
You can also download, delete, or archive your downloaded data from the web page. To do this, click on the three dots icon at the top right corner of the web page and select one of the options. Downloading will let you save a copy of your downloaded data to your computer or device. Deleting will let you remove your downloaded data from Facebook’s servers. Archiving will let you store your downloaded data on Facebook’s servers for future access.
Sync Facebook contacts with your iPhone or Android device
Another way to download Facebook contacts is to sync them with your iPhone or Android device. This is a feature that lets you import your Facebook friends’ names, profile pictures, and phone numbers (if they have shared them with you) to your phone’s contact list. You can also sync other information from Facebook, such as birthdays, events, or photos. Syncing Facebook contacts with your phone can help you keep your contact list updated and organized, as well as make it easier for you to call or message your friends using your phone.
To sync Facebook contacts with your iPhone or Android device, you will need to use a third-party app or tool, as Facebook no longer supports direct syncing with your phone’s native contact app. There are many apps and tools available for this purpose, but we will show you two examples: FoneDog Toolkit for iPhone and Sync.ME for Android. These are both free and easy-to-use apps that can help you sync Facebook contacts with your phone in a few steps.
Steps to sync Facebook contacts with your iPhone using FoneDog Toolkit
- Download and install FoneDog Toolkit on your computer from https://www.fonedog.com/ios-data-backup-restore/.
- Launch FoneDog Toolkit and connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable.
- Select Backup & Restore from the main interface.
- Select Social App Data Backup & Restore from the left sidebar.
- Select Facebook Backup & Restore.
- Click on Backup. FoneDog Toolkit will start backing up your Facebook data on your computer.
- When the backup is completed, click on View Backup Data. You will see a list of all the data that FoneDog Toolkit backed up from your Facebook account, including your contacts.
- Select Contacts and click on Restore to Device. FoneDog Toolkit will start restoring your Facebook contacts to your iPhone’s contact list.
- When the restoration is completed, disconnect your iPhone from your computer and check your contact list on your phone. You should see your Facebook contacts synced with your phone.
Steps to sync Facebook contacts with your Android device using Sync.ME app
- Download and install Sync.ME app on your Android device from Google Play Store or https://sync.me/.
- Launch Sync.ME app and sign in with your Facebook account.
- Select Contact Sync from the bottom menu.
- Select All Contacts or choose specific contacts that you want to sync.
- Select Add Contacts. Sync.ME app will start syncing your Facebook contacts with your Android device’s contact list.
- When the syncing is completed, check your contact list on your phone. You should see You should see your Facebook contacts synced with your phone. You can also use Sync.ME app to sync other information from Facebook, such as birthdays, events, or photos.
How to manage and edit your synced contacts?
Once you have synced your Facebook contacts with your phone, you may want to manage and edit them according to your preferences. For example, you may want to merge duplicate contacts, delete unwanted contacts, add or edit contact details, or assign custom ringtones or photos to your contacts. To do this, you can use your phone’s native contact app or a third-party contact app of your choice. Here are some tips on how to manage and edit your synced contacts:
- Merge duplicate contacts: If you have multiple contacts with the same name or information, you can merge them into one contact to avoid confusion and clutter. To do this, open your contact app and select the contacts that you want to merge. Then, tap on the menu icon and select Merge or Link. Your contact app will combine the information from the selected contacts into one contact.
- Delete unwanted contacts: If you have contacts that you no longer need or want, you can delete them from your contact list to free up some space and keep your list organized. To do this, open your contact app and select the contacts that you want to delete. Then, tap on the trash icon and confirm your action. Your contact app will remove the selected contacts from your list.
- Add or edit contact details: If you want to add or edit some details for your contacts, such as their phone numbers, email addresses, addresses, notes, etc., you can do so using your contact app. To do this, open your contact app and select the contact that you want to add or edit details for. Then, tap on the edit icon and make the changes that you want. Your contact app will save the changes to your contact.
- Assign custom ringtones or photos to your contacts: If you want to personalize your contacts with custom ringtones or photos, you can do so using your contact app. To do this, open your contact app and select the contact that you want to assign a custom ringtone or photo to. Then, tap on the ringtone or photo icon and choose the ringtone or photo that you want. Your contact app will apply the ringtone or photo to your contact.
Conclusion
In this article, we have shown you why and how to download Facebook contacts in 2023. We have explained the benefits and risks of downloading Facebook contacts, as well as two methods to do it: downloading a copy of your information on Facebook, or syncing your Facebook contacts with your iPhone or Android device. We have also given you some tips on how to manage and edit your downloaded or synced contacts.
We hope that this article has been helpful and informative for you. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for reading!
FAQs
- Q: How can I download Facebook contacts without using a third-party app?
- A: Unfortunately, there is no official way to download Facebook contacts without using a third-party app as of 2023. Facebook has discontinued its direct syncing feature with phone’s native contact apps due to privacy and security reasons. You will need to use a third-party app or tool that can access and sync your Facebook data with your phone.
- Q: How can I download Facebook contacts for a specific group or page?
- A: If you want to download Facebook contacts for a specific group or page that you are a member or an admin of, you can use the same method as downloading a copy of your information on Facebook. However, instead of selecting Your Profile in step 3 above, select A Group or A Page, and then choose the group or page that you want to download data for. You will then be able to download the data for that group or page, including the members’ or followers’ names and IDs.
- Q: How can I download Facebook contacts for a specific friend?
- A: If you want to download Facebook contacts for a specific friend that you are connected with on Facebook, you can use the same method as syncing Facebook contacts with your iPhone or Android device. However, instead of selecting All Contacts in step 4 above, select Select Contacts, and then choose the friend that you want to sync data for. You will then be able to sync the data for that friend, including their name, profile picture, and phone number (if they have shared it with you).
- Q: How can I download Facebook contacts to my computer or other devices?
- A: If you want to download Facebook contacts to your computer or other devices, such as a tablet or a laptop, you can use the same method as downloading a copy of your information on Facebook. However, instead of saving the file to your computer or device in step 10 above, you can choose to send the file to your email address or download it from a link that Facebook will provide. You can then access the file from your email or the link and save it to your computer or device.
- Q: How can I update my downloaded or synced Facebook contacts?
- A: If you want to update your downloaded or synced Facebook contacts, you will need to repeat the same method that you used to download or sync them in the first place. For example, if you downloaded a copy of your information on Facebook, you will need to request and download a new copy of your information with the updated data. If you synced your Facebook contacts with your iPhone or Android device, you will need to sync them again with the updated data. You can also delete or edit your downloaded or synced contacts manually using your contact app.
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