Here’s how to download your Facebook archive

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Getty Images | Carl Court

With growing concerns about the privacy of using Facebook, users may want to see what the social media giant is collecting about you.

It was revealed Sunday that Facebook’s Android app has been collecting call and text histories.

But even if you aren’t an Android user, Facebook has an archive of data that it’s been gathering about your interests. This includes every like, comment, photo, etc., since you first started using Facebook.

This content is then used to target advertisements toward you.

Here’s What You Need To Do To Download That Data:

1. Go to the drop down menu in the upper right hand corner.

2. Choose “Settings”

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3. Select “Download a copy of your Facebook data.”

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4. Click on the green button that says “Start My Archive”

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Be aware that it is probably a massive file since it will likely contain years worth of data.

What Happened?

So, how did this happen exactly?

By now, you’ve likely heard of the massive Facebook data breach in which Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm tied to Donald Trump’s election team, compiled over 50 million Facebook profiles’ worth of personal information to use in a software program whose purpose was to predict and influence choices during the election.

facebook photo
Getty Images | Sean Gallup

“We exploited Facebook to harvest millions of people’s profiles,” Christopher Wylie, who worked with a Cambridge University academic to obtain the data, admitted to the Observer. “And built models to exploit what we knew about them and target their inner demons. That was the basis the entire company was built on.”

Facebook began allowing third-party app creators to access users’ personal information in 2007.

iphone photo
Getty Images | Carl Court

Many of these apps gained access to an incredible amount of data on each use, including location, education, career, date of birth, pictures and more.

Facebook restricted this third-party access in 2014. But before that, you could take a personality quiz and essentially hand over not only your personal information, but the information of everyone else in your circle.

facebook photo
Getty Images | Sean Gallup

Currently, Facebook apps are only granted access to people who directly sign up for them. That said, those people are likely sharing a lot more information than they realize. Still, people are quickly coming to understand that their personal choices on Facebook can directly, and sometimes negatively, impact others.

Want to protect your privacy or delete your account entirely? We’ve got some tips you might want to consider.

Written by Scott Sutton for KMTV with additional reporting by Chelsea Davis.

Copyright 2018 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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