How to export or download your Messenger chat history

To export a Messenger conversation, use Facebook's Download message storage data option on a computer: go to facebook.com/messages, open Messenger's settings, then End-to-end encrypted chats, Message storage, and Download message storage data. Confirm it's you with your PIN or a one-time code and your Facebook password, and Meta prepares a zipped archive with a JSON file for each conversation. Older chats that aren't end-to-end encrypted come from Accounts Center's Export your information tool instead, on a phone or a computer. Story of Us reads that JSON file in your browser.

Exporting it to make something for the two of you? Once the file is downloaded, it’s about a minute to a keepsake — the import screen shows these steps too.

Make our Messenger keepsake One-time · no subscription · stays on your device

What you need

A computer with a web browser. Messenger's download for end-to-end encrypted chats — Facebook's own wording is Download message storage data — is only available on a computer, not in the Messenger phone app. Messenger on a computer now lives at facebook.com/messages: Meta has retired the Messenger desktop apps and the standalone messenger.com site. Personal chats on Messenger are now end-to-end encrypted by default, so for most couples this is the download to use, and the JSON file it produces can be uploaded from any browser afterward. Older chats that were never end-to-end encrypted come from Accounts Center's export instead — see below.

Download message storage data

These are the steps Meta's Help Center gives for downloading your end-to-end encrypted chats, starting from Messenger on a computer:

Open Messenger on a computer. Go to facebook.com/messages in a browser on a computer and sign in to the account that has the conversation with your partner.
Go to Privacy & safety. Open Messenger's settings menu, then choose Privacy & safety.
Open Message storage. Choose End-to-end encrypted chats, then Message storage.
Download message storage data. Click Download message storage data. Some older guides call this button Download secure storage data.
Verify it's you. Enter your PIN or use a one-time code to restore your chat history.
Download the file. Click Download file and enter your Facebook password when prompted, then click Download. Meta can take several minutes to prepare the file.
Unzip and find the JSON. Once it has downloaded, unzip the archive and find the JSON file for the conversation with your partner.
Upload the JSON file. Open the Messenger import screen and drop in that one JSON file, not the whole unzipped folder.

Meta notes the download is still being introduced gradually, so it may not appear on every account yet. Wondering what else is inside the download? Your Messenger data download, explained →

The file you're looking for

Look for a single conversation's .json file inside the unzipped archive — the import screen reads that one file directly in your browser. Don't drop in the whole unzipped folder or a media file; only the JSON transcript is used.

Using Accounts Center's export instead

For chats that aren't end-to-end encrypted, Meta's general tool is Export your information in Accounts Center — Meta's Help Center article for it is "Request a copy of your Messenger data", and some screens still say Download your information. Meta documents it for both the Facebook app and a computer: go to Settings & privacy → Settings → Accounts Center → Your information and permissions → Export your information → Create export, choose your profile, then Export to device. From there you choose what to include, the date range and the format: pick JSON, the format Story of Us reads (HTML is easier to open and read yourself, but the keepsake can't use it). Meta lets you know when the export is ready, and it waits under Available downloads for four days. Screens can differ between accounts, so follow Accounts Center's own on-screen instructions if yours look different, then look for the JSON file covering your conversation with your partner — Story of Us's importer reads that JSON shape the same way it reads a message storage download.

Common problems

messenger.com sends you to Facebook. That's expected — Messenger on a computer is now facebook.com/messages, and the same settings are there.
The download link never becomes ready. Meta's backend can take a while, especially for a long history — check back rather than restarting the request.
The unzipped archive has many folders. Only the JSON file for your specific conversation is needed, not the rest of the export.
No Message storage option appears. That option only applies to end-to-end encrypted chats, and Meta is still introducing the download gradually. Use Accounts Center's Export your information instead — see above.
It's a group conversation. Story of Us is built for one-on-one conversations; only drop in the single conversation's JSON file.

Privacy, plainly

Your Messenger download never leaves your device: it’s read right there in your browser. To write the captions, a much smaller slice goes to our server: your most-used words and phrases, counts and rhythms (who texts more, your streaks, your busiest hour), and a few sample messages, your first texts and your most recent. Never the file, never the whole conversation. Read exactly what we send →

What you get

Once Meta’s download is ready, this is what it can become. It’s built only from your own history: pet names and inside jokes it noticed on its own, your year-by-year rhythm, your busiest hour, the words you reach for without thinking. Read it on screen, then download the PDF to keep or print, ready in about a minute. No subscription, nothing shipped.

Make our Messenger keepsake One-time · no subscription · stays on your device

¿Prefieres el español? Leer esta página en español →

Exported and want the story, not just the file? Turn your text messages into a book →

Wondering what the download actually contains? Your Messenger data download, explained →

Want it on paper instead? Print your Messenger conversation →

Want the full book treatment? Messenger chat book options →

Sources

Last verified: October 9, 2026

Questions

Where is "Download message storage data" in Messenger?

On a computer only. Go to facebook.com/messages, open Messenger's settings, then choose Privacy & safety, End-to-end encrypted chats, Message storage, and Download message storage data. It isn't in the Messenger phone app, and some older guides call it Download secure storage data.

How do I export a single Facebook Messenger conversation?

Download your messages, then keep just the one conversation you want. Both Meta downloads cover your chats broadly — Download message storage data for end-to-end encrypted chats, Accounts Center's Export your information for older ones — and inside the unzipped download each conversation has its own JSON file.

Are end-to-end encrypted chats in the Accounts Center export?

Meta handles them separately: end-to-end encrypted chats come from Download message storage data in Messenger's settings on a computer, and Accounts Center's Export your information covers your other Messenger data. If a conversation is missing from one download, check the other.

Can I export on iPhone/Android?

The message storage download for end-to-end encrypted chats is computer-only. Accounts Center's Export your information works from the Facebook app on a phone as well as on a computer. Either way, the resulting JSON file can be uploaded from any browser afterward.

What file do I upload?

The single conversation's JSON file from inside the unzipped download — from message storage or from Accounts Center's export, whichever your conversation supports.

Does the full chat leave my device?

No — the JSON file is read directly in your browser. Only your most-used words and phrases, counts, and a small handful of sample messages are sent to write the captions.

Does this work for groups?

No — it's built for one-on-one conversations. Only drop in the single conversation's JSON file, not a group thread.

What do I get?

A private keepsake built from your Messenger conversation: your words and rhythms, on screen about a minute after you open the file, with a PDF to download afterward.

What if I don't see a Message storage option?

That option only applies to end-to-end encrypted chats, and Meta is still introducing the download gradually. For any other Messenger conversation, use Accounts Center's Export your information tool instead and choose JSON — Story of Us's importer also accepts the JSON shape that export produces.