Archive Facebook Photos Automatically

Let’s be honest. Most of us love it when a friend tags us in a new Facebook photo. The problem is, those photos may not be there forever! As Facebook continues to make changes, old photos get harder to find, and if a user deletes their account, their photos will disappear as well. By archiving every photo you are tagged in, you can keep them all safe, and you can even use a few automated tools to do the work for you.

Grab Old Photos First

Using the tools below will ensure that new tagged photos are automatically archived, but it doesn’t apply to older photos. First, we need to use an easy tool to backup photos you are already tagged in, before we set up the automation tools for the future. A free, open-source tool called PhotoGrabber can make this quick and easy, and it is available for both Windows and Mac.

1. Download PhotoGrabber and install it.
2. Launch the program and click the Login button.
3. You may need to enter your Facebook user name and password. The page will ask you to authorize the app and give you a “token” that must be copied back into the app. Paste the token into the box labeled “Paste your login token here:” and click Next.
4. In the Select Targets box, choose your own name (or the name of a friend if you wish) then check the box next to “All tagged photos”. If you wish to save the entire album that goes along with each tagged photo, you can also select “Full albums of tagged photos”. Click Next to continue.
5. Choose a download location for the files. I recommend you name the folder something easy to remember, like “Facebook tagged photos”.
6. Click Finish, and the program will begin downloading all of the photos you are currently tagged in.

Automate Future Downloads

Now that we’ve backed up all of the currently tagged photos on Facebook, we don’t want to have to keep running the program every few months. Let’s automate this process! We will use a tool called If This, Then That to do all of the heavy lifting for us, then we can save the photos to one of several online photo services. Here are the steps:

1. Visit ifttt.com and create a new account by clicking Join IFTTT and following the instructions.
2. Click “Create a Recipe”, then click “This” to create a new trigger.
3. Choose “Facebook”, and activate the service if necessary. Click “You are tagged in a photo”, then “Create Trigger”.
4. Now click “That” to choose what happens when the action is triggered.
5. Choose a service like Dropbox, Flickr, or Google Drive depending on where you want to store your photos. In most cases, you will choose “Upload file from URL”. This will save the photo to the service you have chosen.

That’s it! The next time you are tagged in a new photo, the service will be triggered and back it up. Now all you have to do is sit back and watch those new photos roll in. You can rest assured that those priceless photos of you eating a hot dog will now be preserved for all time. Okay, all kidding aside, backing up photos in multiple places is always a good idea, and an automated service like IFTTT saves you from the worry of forgetting to back them up, and keeps those important photos right where you want them. Now that you have all of those photos in one place, maybe you’d like to print them. See our tips on Selecting the Right Photo Printer if you are considering a purchase. If you need supplies, don’t forget to visit our inkjet cartridges page and search for your model.