How to download Messenger chat history
Published October 27, 2026
Since Messenger made personal chats end-to-end encrypted, a conversation's history lives in two places, and Facebook's usual "Download your information" only covers one of them. People who download their chats and find nothing after early 2024 have hit this. This page shows how to download both parts. Menu names change from time to time; the steps below are current as of October 2026.
Part 1: older messages (Download your information)
- In Facebook, go to Settings → Accounts Center → Your information and permissions → Download your information.
- Choose Download or transfer information, your profile, then Some of your information, and tick only Messages.
- Choose Download to device, date range All time, format JSON (or HTML to read it in a browser), media quality Low.
- Facebook tells you when the file is ready, from minutes to a day or two for a large inbox. Download the zip from Available downloads before the link expires.
Inside the zip, each conversation is a folder under messages/inbox/, with the messages in message_1.json (long chats continue in message_2.json and so on).
Part 2: end-to-end encrypted chats
Encrypted chats are not in that download, because Facebook cannot read them. They come from Messenger's secure storage, and only if secure storage was turned on.
- On a computer, open messenger.com and click your profile picture.
- Go to Privacy & safety → End-to-end encrypted chats → Message storage.
- Choose Download secure storage data, then Download file, and enter your password if asked. Keep the page open until the download starts.
Some people report the download works in Chrome but not Safari on a Mac. If secure storage was never turned on, older encrypted messages may only exist on your devices.
Landed! Customs line is huge, see you in 40 min
I'm at arrivals with the sign 😂
Putting the two together
The two downloads overlap around the switch to encryption and use different formats, so reading one conversation across both by hand is fiddly. If you need the history as evidence, for example for an immigration petition, Proof of Relationship takes both zips as they are, lets you pick the conversation, joins the two into one timeline without duplicates, and builds a monthly calendar and a dated sample as a PDF. It also tells you if your Messenger history stops early, which usually means the encrypted part is missing.
Common questions
Why are my newer Messenger messages missing from my Facebook download?
Personal Messenger chats became end-to-end encrypted, and Download your information does not include encrypted chats. Download them separately from Messenger's secure storage.
Can I download Messenger chat history on my phone?
The Download your information request works in the Facebook app. The encrypted-chat download is easiest on a computer at messenger.com.
What format should I choose, JSON or HTML?
HTML to read the messages in a browser; JSON if a tool will read the file.
How long does Facebook take to prepare the download?
From a few minutes for a small inbox to a day or two for years of messages and media. Choosing only Messages and low media quality makes it faster.
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