How to export your data from Instagram

easy Screenshots from 30 July 2026 Wait: minutes to a few days depending on size

Instagram is required to give you a copy of the data it holds about you, including photos, videos, messages and posts and social activity. The request itself is free, and arrives as .zip containing JSON or HTML files and media. Typical wait: minutes to a few days depending on size.

Meta Accounts Center - Download your information ->

Step by step

Every screenshot below is from Instagram's own pages on 30 July 2026.

  1. Open Download your information

    In the Instagram app or on the web, go to Accounts Center, then Your information and permissions, then Download your information.

    Meta Accounts Centre 'Export your information' dialog with a Create export button, and a note that the export excludes information other people shared.
    The export lives in Meta's Accounts Centre now, not in Instagram's own settings. Note what it says: photos other people posted that you are tagged in are not included, because they are not yours.

  2. Choose the Instagram profile

    Select the Instagram account whose data you want to export.

  3. Select information and range

    Choose which categories to include (posts, stories, messages, and more) and pick "All time" for everything.

  4. Pick format and quality

    Choose JSON for machine-readable data (best for Muletto) and set media quality to high.

  5. Create the file and wait

    Submit the request. Meta prepares your download and notifies you when it is ready.

    The same dialog after requesting, showing the request listed as 'Export to device, Once, JSON' with the date it was requested.
    Once submitted it appears under Current activity with the settings you chose, so you can check you actually asked for JSON.

  6. Download the file

    Download every part before the link expires and keep the files together.

Worth knowing

Meta gives you four days to download once the export is ready, not the week Google allows. The confirmation screen says so and the notification does not repeat it.
Meta asks for your password again before submitting the request. That is Meta's own screen - Muletto never sees it and never asks for a password.
Instagram and Facebook are both handled in Meta Accounts Center, so you can request them together.
Full-resolution photos and videos are included only if you set media quality to high before requesting.

What Muletto does with this export

Once your download arrives, open it in Muletto. The file is read in your browser, on your own machine - nothing is uploaded. You get a breakdown of what is inside, duplicate detection, and a browsable view of your photos, messages, timeline and records.

Open your export ->