As we venture further into the data age, it’s important as consumers to closely monitor the various streams of data we put out into the world. A key part of that process is limiting the ways in which various websites store our personal browsing history and preferences, as we explained in our BIGinsight last week. But another crucial element is to download a copy of your data for personal accountability purposes.
It’s a fairly simple process, and it’s a safeguard you can implement to help yourself out in the long run. Let’s run through how to download a copy of your data from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google from your desktop computer.
Downloading your Facebook Data
- Head to www.facebook.com/settings?tab=your_facebook_information.
- Select Download your information.
- Select your preferred date range, file format, and media quality.
- Select which data categories you’d like to include.
- Press Create File. You’ll receive an email with your results shortly.
Downloading your Instagram Data
- Open Instagram.
- Click the Profile icon in the top-right corner.
- Click the Settings gear.
- Select Privacy and Security.
- Under Data Download, click Request Download.
- Enter your credentials. Just like Facebook, your data will arrive via email in anywhere from 2 to 48 hours.
Downloading your Google Data
- Go to your Google account here: https://myaccount.google.com/.
- Click Data & personalization on the left side.
- Scroll down and choose Download your data from the Download or Delete your Data panel.
- Toggle on the Google products you’d like to include in your download.
- Scroll down and select Next.
- Choose your archive’s File type, size and method of delivery.
- Select Create Archive.
Downloading your Twitter Data
- From the main Twitter screen, press your profile icon.
- Near the bottom of the pop-up bar, select Settings and Privacy.
- In the Account section of Settings, scroll down to Content.
- Now just press Request Your Archive. You’ll be emailed your information usually within the same day.
Downloading a copy of your data from these big four sites should offer some peace of mind moving forward. It gives you the ability to have a better grasp of the type and scope of personal information available about you online. If Twitter gets breached, you’ll be able to know exactly which data points are vulnerable. And if Facebook goes down, you’ll have a copy of your profile.
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