Facebook Messenger chat archive — search, photos, export

Your Facebook export ZIP is hard to read. FbZip Chat Archive turns Messenger and WhatsApp exports into a searchable offline archive — SQLite database, photos, and a browser viewer on PC, Mac, Linux, or Android phone. The software is free to download; you pay for the full converted archive (all chats and media).

What you get

Search

Find conversations and messages across years of chats.

Photos & video

Load media on demand; copy, print, or export selections.

Offline viewer

Runs locally — data stays on your device after download.

Export

HTML, text, WhatsApp format, email bundles (paid full archive).

Free software vs paid data

  • Free — download the Windows desktop app (or from the Chat Archive card in /webv/). Create a preview (1 chat, 500 messages) on the web and use the full offline viewer.
  • Paid — purchase the full converted archive: every conversation, all media, bulk export. Build and download the ZIP at /webv/ after checkout.

The offline viewer is never paywalled — it ships inside every archive you download.

Pricing (CAD, one-time)

  • Free — preview extract (1 conversation, 500 messages) + free desktop app and viewer
  • Chat Archive Standard (~$69) — full Messenger / WhatsApp archive download
  • FbZip Complete — Posts + Chats (~$89) — full chat archive + FbZip2Blue Agency (posts → Bluesky, up to 10 accounts)
  • Bluesky Standard (~$5) — posts → Bluesky only, 1 account — workflow guide
  • Bluesky Agency (~$30) — posts → Bluesky, up to 10 accounts (no chat archive)

FbZip Complete (~$89) is the best value if you are leaving Meta entirely: full chats plus Agency-level post migration for up to 10 Bluesky accounts — only ~$20 more than Chat Archive alone.

How it works (web + desktop)

  1. Download your Facebook export — see how to download your Facebook export (or export a WhatsApp chat from the mobile app).
  2. Sign in at /webv/. In the Chat Archive access card, download the free Windows app if desired.
  3. Create upload session → upload your export ZIP(s).
  4. Click Build chat archive ZIP (preview without license; full archive with Chat Archive or Complete license).
  5. When status is Ready, click Download ZIP.
  6. Open the ZIP in FbZip Chat Archive or run Open-Viewer.bat on Windows — see System requirements below for Mac, Linux, or Android.

Re-open a saved session from Saved sessions using /?session=YOUR_UPLOAD_ID on the home page if you already uploaded your export for posts.

System requirements

The offline viewer runs in a desktop or mobile browser with a local web server (do not double-click index.html from the file manager).

Windows SmartScreen or antivirus

Download the Windows app only from this official link. The app is free offline software — it does not send your chats to our servers after install.

Because the installer is not code-signed yet, Windows may show “Windows protected your PC” or your antivirus may flag FbZipChatArchive.exe. This is a common false positive for new, unsigned desktop apps.

If you downloaded from fbzip2blue.com:

  1. SmartScreen — click More info, then Run anyway.
  2. Windows Security — Virus & threat protection → Protection history → allow or restore FbZipChatArchive.exe if quarantined.
  3. Other antivirus — restore from quarantine and add an exclusion for %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\FbZip Chat Archive\ (after install).

After install, use File → Import downloaded archive… to open your chat ZIP from Downloads. We are working on code signing to reduce these prompts.

Viewing the archive

  • Windows 10/11 — recommended. Download the app, or extract a web-built archive and double-click Open-Viewer.bat. Browsers: Chrome, Edge, or Firefox.
  • macOS / Linux — extract the archive, start any static server in the archive folder (e.g. npx serve -p 8765), open http://127.0.0.1:8765/viewer/ in Chrome or Firefox. Desktop builds coming soon.
  • Android — copy the extracted archive to the phone, run a local HTTP server app (Play Store) pointed at the archive folder, open http://127.0.0.1:<port>/viewer/ in Chrome for Android. WhatsApp per-chat exports work well on mobile.
  • iPhone / iPad — same pattern as Android (Safari + local server app) for small archives; not our primary test target.

Import sources (what you can extract)

  • Facebook Messenger — Meta “Download your information” ZIP (best on PC / Wi‑Fi for large exports).
  • WhatsApp on Android / iPhone — in-app Export chat (per chat, `.zip` or `.txt`, with or without media).
  • Not supported — encrypted Android msgstore.db backups without export; use WhatsApp’s export feature instead.

Privacy

  • Server copies of message content are deleted after download or within 72 hours.
  • The viewer works offline; no account required after download.
  • Do not paste your full export into support chat — use in-app help only.

Also migrating posts to Bluesky?

FbZip2Blue handles Facebook posts → Bluesky in the browser. Chat Archive is for Messenger / WhatsApp history. See Facebook to Bluesky workflow or buy FbZip Complete (~$89) for both plus Agency access.

Launch Web App Download Windows app (free) Download Facebook export first