How to download your Messenger chat history

Use Messenger's secure-storage message storage download on a computer, select Messages, download and unzip the archive, then choose the JSON file for the one-to-one conversation. Story of Us reads that JSON file in the browser and turns it into an illustrated keepsake.

What you need

A computer — the message storage download in Messenger's end-to-end encrypted chats is only available there, not in the mobile app, though the JSON file it produces can be uploaded from any browser afterward. This is a different tool from Facebook's general "Download Your Information" account export; for a single Messenger conversation, message storage is the one to use.

Steps to download your history

1. Open Messenger and sign in. On a computer, open Messenger and sign in to the account that owns the conversation with your partner.
2. Go to Privacy and safety. Open your profile menu, then Privacy and safety.
3. Open Message storage. Choose End-to-end encrypted chats, then Message storage.
4. Start the download. Select Download message storage data, leave Messages checked, uncheck Media, choose a timeframe, then click Download file. Keep the tab open — it can take several minutes to prepare.
5. Unzip and find the JSON. Once it is ready, download and unzip the archive, then find the JSON file for the conversation with your partner.
6. Upload the JSON file. Open the Messenger import screen and drop in that one JSON file, not the whole unzipped folder.

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.

Common problems

• The download link never becomes ready. Facebook's backend can take a while, especially for a long history — keep the tab open and 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. The download only applies to end-to-end encrypted chats and is only available from a computer, not the mobile app.
• 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

The export itself never leaves your device — it's read right there in your browser, the same way a photo opens on your computer. To write the handful of captions that need real words (your busiest year, your first exchange, the phrase you didn't know you repeated), we send a much smaller slice to our server: your most-used words and phrases, counts and rhythms (who texts more, your streaks, your busiest hour), and a very small handful of sample messages — your first few texts and your most recent. Not the export file, not your full conversation. Read exactly what we send →

What you get

A short, private keepsake 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. You read it on your screen, then you can download it as a PDF to keep or print yourself, no subscription and nothing shipped. It's ready in about a minute.

Make our Messenger keepsake $5 · one time · stays on your laptop

Want the fuller picture first? See the Messenger keepsake page →