How to Export Facebook Messenger Chat History
Messenger has no Export Chat button, and since Meta switched personal chats to end-to-end encryption there are two different exports to know about. This guide covers both: Download Your Information for regular chats and groups, and the secure storage download for encrypted chats.
- App or web
- JSON or HTML
- Up to 48 hours
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How to export Messenger chat history
- On Facebook, open Settings, then Accounts Center.
- Choose Your information and permissions, then Download your information.
- Select Some of your information and tick Messages.
- Pick Download to device, date range All time, format JSON, then Create files.
- Download the ZIP when Meta emails you.
Chats with a lock icon are end-to-end encrypted and are not in that file. Get them from Privacy & safety, End-to-end encrypted chats, Message storage, then Download secure storage data.
Messenger holds years of conversations for a lot of people, and getting them out is a two-part story. Regular chats and groups come through Meta's Download Your Information tool, the same flow used for Instagram DMs. Encrypted chats, which are now the default for personal conversations, need a separate download from secure storage. Either file works with AI chat analysis.
Key takeaways
- Regular chats: Accounts Center, then Download your information, then Messages only.
- Set date range All time, format JSON, media quality Low. The defaults drop older messages and bloat the file.
- A chat with a lock icon is end-to-end encrypted and will not be in that file. Export it from the Messenger app instead.
- Each conversation is its own folder under messages/inbox. Upload the ZIP or one message_1.json.
First, check which kind of chat you have
Open the conversation in Messenger. If the header shows a lock icon or a banner saying the chat is end-to-end encrypted, it is stored on your device and Download Your Information cannot see it. Skip to the encrypted-chat section below. Group chats and older, unencrypted conversations use the standard steps.
How do you download regular Messenger chats?
The steps below start on facebook.com. In the Facebook or Messenger app, tap your profile picture and look for Accounts Center at the top of Settings; from there the screens are identical. Meta's own instructions are in the Facebook Help Center.
Open Accounts Center
Click your profile picture, then Settings & privacy, then Settings. Accounts Center is the first item on the page.
Go to Download your information
Choose Your information and permissions, then Download your information, then Download or transfer information.
Choose your profile and select Messages
Tick only the Facebook profile you want, choose Some of your information, tick Messages, and tap Next. Leaving everything else unticked keeps the file small and fast.
Set the destination, date range, format, and media quality
Choose Download to device. Then set:
- Date range: All time. The default is one year.
- Format: JSON for analysis. HTML only for reading.
- Media quality: Low. Attachments are not needed for analysis and make the file enormous.
Tap Create files and confirm your password.
Download the ZIP when the email arrives
Meta emails you when the file is ready: minutes for a small inbox, up to 48 hours for years of chats. Return to Download your information, open Available downloads, and grab the ZIP within four days before the link expires.
Now that you have your export file, upload the ZIP or a single message_1.json to the Messenger chat analyzer and pick the conversation you want to look at.
How do you export end-to-end encrypted Messenger chats?
Meta cannot read encrypted chats, so they are left out of the server-side download. If you use secure storage, which keeps an encrypted backup of those chats, you can download that copy instead.
- On messenger.com (or in the Messenger app), click your profile picture, then Privacy & safety.
- Open End-to-end encrypted chats, then Message storage.
- Click Download secure storage data, then Download file, and enter your Facebook password if asked.
- Save the ZIP and move it to your computer if you started on a phone.
This only works if secure storage is turned on for your encrypted chats. Menu names shift between app versions, so if you cannot find the option, check Meta's current instructions for downloading data from encrypted chats. The result includes the same message text and timestamps as a regular export.
How long does the standard download take?
Minutes
A few conversations
Hours
An active account
Up to 48h
Years of chats, or media included
Where are the messages in the download?
facebook-username-date.zip
your_facebook_activity/
messages/
inbox/
name_1234567890/ → message_1.json
Every conversation gets a folder named after the other person or the group. Upload the whole ZIP to MosaicChats and choose the chat afterwards, or upload a single message_1.json. Very long chats continue in message_2.json and so on.
What the download includes
- - Every message with a timestamp
- - Sender names
- - Reactions
- - Links to shared media and attachments
- - Call logs and voice message markers
- - Group chat members
What it does not include
- - End-to-end encrypted chats (separate export)
- - Messages you unsent or conversations you deleted
- - Vanish mode messages
- - Anything outside your chosen date range
JSON or HTML: which format should you choose?
JSON (for analysis)
- Structured, with exact timestamps per message
- Read directly by MosaicChats and other tools
Choose this to upload
HTML (for reading)
- Opens in a browser and mirrors the chat thread
- Good for scrolling through old conversations
Choose this to keep a readable copy
What can you learn from the file?
A Messenger export often spans years, which makes it ideal for seeing how a relationship has changed rather than how it feels this week.
Sentiment over time
A week-by-week emotional timeline that shows warm stretches, tense patches, and slow drifts you might not notice day to day.
Engagement and activity
Who writes more, and the hours and days each of you is most active. For reading reply speed yourself, see what reply speed says about a relationship.
Texting style and personality
A word cloud of the words each of you uses more than the other, plus MBTI-style traits inferred from how each of you writes.
Compatibility score
A single score built from balance, reciprocity, and engagement. Read about how the compatibility scoring works.
Frequently asked questions
Can the other person see that I downloaded my messages?
No. Requesting a copy of your own information is private. Meta notifies nobody else.
Why is a conversation missing from my download?
It is almost always an end-to-end encrypted chat. Since Meta made encryption the default for personal Messenger chats, those conversations are stored on your device and are not part of Download Your Information. Download those from secure storage instead: Privacy & safety, End-to-end encrypted chats, Message storage, Download secure storage data.
How do I export a Messenger chat with one person?
Not from Meta's tool, which always packages every conversation. After extracting the ZIP, each chat has its own folder under messages/inbox, so you can pick out the one you want.
Does the download include messages I deleted?
No. Only messages still in your inbox when Meta builds the file are included. Unsent messages and deleted conversations are gone.
Which format should I choose?
JSON if you plan to analyze the chat with a tool such as MosaicChats. HTML only if you want to read the conversation in a browser.
Can I do this on messenger.com or facebook.com?
Yes. Download Your Information lives in Accounts Center, which you can reach from facebook.com on a computer as well as from the Facebook and Messenger apps. The screens are the same.