What have you shared about yourself on social networks?

Our cooperation partner checked4you explains how you can download your data from social networks.

A like here, a tag on a party photo there – and where was I on December 23, 2017? Of course, you can scroll through your entire timeline and search for it. But it is quite complex. And besides, you won't know what you've been up to on other profiles.

For a comprehensive overview, you can download your saved data from some services. We explain how this works on Google, Facebook and Twitter. Unfortunately, this doesn't always work reliably via mobile devices. That's why it's best to carry out the steps on a laptop or PC.

Google

  • Takeout Google Settings page
  • Select the services you participate in and from which you want the data (e.g. Google+ , Google Photos , YouTube )
  • A zip file will be created and you can choose whether you want it to be uploaded to your Google Drive directory or whether you would like to receive a download link by email.

Facebook

  • Open Facebook Settings ( Facebook Settings )
  • On the first General page, click the “Download a copy of your Facebook data” link at the bottom.
  • In the new window, click “Download Archive”
  • Enter your password
  • You will receive a download link to the email address you used to log in to Facebook.

The information Facebook provides you with in a profile copy is listed here: Facebook Help

Twitter

  • Open the account settings ( Twitter Settings )
  • Click “Request your archive” at the bottom of the page
  • A download link comes via email.

Snapchat, WhatsApp and other messengers

There is no specific way to download your saved data here. WhatsApp saves your chat histories under your mobile phone number and can therefore restore them if you change your smartphone. You can also create a backup that is saved on Google Drive. But be careful: the files are not stored encrypted. So strangers could read your chat content.

According to Snapchat, files sent are deleted after a short time, but can apparently be restored on individual devices. With Threema you can secure your contacts and group memberships by creating a backup of your Threema ID and saving it anywhere. However, your chat content will not be saved.

It is unclear whether the downloaded data is really all that the networks have stored about you. Facebook, for example, only considers data that you share as “my data” to be “my data”. Information that reached the Facebook servers by other means (e.g. through content from other Facebook users) may not be included. You can find out how Facebook gets information and what you can do to limit it in our Facebook special about the changed terms of use and the setting tips for advertising on Facebook .

Right to information

If you want to know what a company has stored about you and you can't find a way to download this information, you can write to the company. An address must be included in the legal notice and every company is obliged to provide information about stored data. You can use a sample letter from the NRW Consumer Center .


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )