How to download your data from Google and Facebook

Want to find out how much data Google and Facebook have on you? I did so for my own accounts – many seven or more years old – and across different places, there was a phenomenal amount. Here's how to get the same information on yourself.  

Any company based in the EU is obliged to give users all data it holds on them if requested. Google's EU-based subsidiaries don't process any user data, and so avoid this requirement, but for anyone outside the US and Canada, Facebook's Irish office holds masses of data.

This process is slow – people have reported getting a response as taking months – but will get the most complete response. The key issue is to write to Facebook at Facebook Ireland Ltd, Hanover Reach, 5-7 Hanover Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland, including proof of identity and a short letter saying what information you'd like.