Facebook data

[gusl]

How long does Facebook keep messages, status updates, comments, etc? Is there a nice Facebook client that will let me store my content permanently? I get email notifications, but they contain other people's replies to me, not the stuff that I write.

I'm worried that people have been increasingly choosing Facebook over email.

Comments

[rdore.livejournal.com]

I doubt there is such a thing, unless some third party has written a screen scraper to grab the info. Facebook probably wants to keep you on there site as much as possible, both to get more add revenue and make it harder for you to leave.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

I think there probably *is* a client for interacting with Facebook, which would record everything... just like email clients record your emails. Unlike email, which has known protocols, this would probably have to work as a "screen scraper"... (though I wonder if FB's internal protocol can be easily cracked by looking at URLs)

I wonder if GreaseMonkey applications get this sophisticated.

Desired features:
* view FB emails and conversations offline
* provide permanent storage
* save FB chats

[stepleton.livejournal.com]

Okok, here's what you do. Get involved in some Shady Dealings and conduct said dealings on Facebook. Next, turn state's witness and convince the DA to subpoena all of your Facebook correspondence---not just the Dealings---in preparation for the trial. Have the correspondence entered into the records for the court case (but not under seal!) and then your data is easily retrieved. You win, and you get a whole new identity afterwards!

[jgrafton]

This is one of the things that really frustrates me about Facebook - that it is so hard to get your data out of the site.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

I kinda wish Google would acquire Facebook, so that the Data Liberation Front could get working on it.

I heard somewhere....

[(Anonymous)]

Scraping FB violates their terms of use - even for your own data.

Re: I heard somewhere....

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I hope they don't enforce it! There's a fuzzy line between scraping and copying/pasting by hand.

Btw, who is this?

Re: I heard somewhere....

[kartiksg.livejournal.com]

I hear copy pasting is ok. "Scraping" as in using or deploying an app that automatically acquires user data (even your own) is against their TOU. I ran into this when trying to "scrape" all my contact's phone numbers into my google account so as to use it with my G1.

Re: I heard somewhere....

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

did they kick you out or something?

Re: I heard somewhere....

[kartiksg.livejournal.com]

Oh no. Some dude who use to have a facebook app to sync up your phone contacts from your facebook got shut out and blogged about this policy and how it was discouraging people from using fb on smartphones.

[afanesvoltaje.livejournal.com]

I worry about this, too.