Facebook’s Memories feature is a great way to look back on your old posts, photos, and life events from years past. Each day, Facebook shows you a selection of memories from that same date in previous years. But what if you want to see your memories from a specific date? While Facebook doesn’t provide an obvious way to do this, there are still a few methods you can use to find and view your memories from any date in the past.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the step-by-step process to see all your Facebook memories, no matter how old they are. Whether you want to reminisce about a special occasion, find an old post you made, or just take a nostalgic look back through your Facebook history, these tips will help you access your memories from any date.
Why Can’t I Browse Facebook Memories by Date?
Facebook previously had a dedicated page called “On This Day” that let you easily view memories from any date you selected. However, in 2018 Facebook removed this feature and replaced it with the “Memories” page that only shows memories from the current date. There is no longer a built-in calendar or date selector for browsing your past memories.
The likely reason Facebook made this change is to keep people focused on the present. By only showing memories from the current date, Facebook encourages you to check back each day to see new memories, rather than getting lost browsing through your entire Facebook history. Facebook wants to surface relevant memories while avoiding the “Time Capsule” effect.
However, there are still a few workarounds you can use to find and view your memories from a desired date in the past. Let’s walk through the options, starting with the easiest method.
Method 1: Search for Memories by Date
The quickest way to find memories from a specific date is to use Facebook’s search bar. This method works on both the website and mobile app:
- In the Facebook search bar, type in the date you want to see memories from in this format: date month year. For example: 24 August 2014
- Press Enter or click the search button.
- On the results page, click the Posts tab to filter for just posts from that date.
- Scroll through the search results to view your memories from that exact date.
The Posts tab will show you all posts you made on that date in past years. It also includes posts you were tagged in and posts made on your timeline by friends. You can see the full post content and any photos included. Posts are sorted in reverse-chronological order.
Note: If you have posts set to Friends only or a custom audience, you may need to click See More Results at the bottom and select Public Posts or Posts from Friends to see those memories.
Tip: You can filter the search results even further by clicking Filter Results and selecting specific post types (photos, videos, etc.), tagged people, or privacy settings.
Method 2: View Memories from the Current Date
If you want to see a wider selection of memories beyond just wall posts and photos, you can use Facebook’s built-in Memories page. While this only shows memories from the current date, you can still use it to access older memories with a little extra effort.
Here’s how to see your Facebook memories on the current date:
- On the Facebook website, click Memories in the left sidebar. In the mobile app, tap the Menu icon (3 lines), then tap Memories.
- Once on the Memories page, you’ll see a selection of On This Day memories from the current date in past years. This includes wall posts, photos, posts you’re tagged in, major life events, and more.
- If you get a memory that’s close to the date you want to see, click the See More Memories link at the bottom of the memory.
- This will open up a larger selection of memories from around that date. Scroll down this page to see if you can find the specific memory you’re looking for.
- If you still don’t see the memory you want, keep scrolling down and click See More Memories again to go back even further in time.
Using this method, you can see a wider variety of memories from around a certain date. It requires more manual effort than searching, but you may find memories that don’t show up in search results.
Method 3: Find Memories Directly on Your Timeline
Another way to find memories from a specific date is to navigate directly to your Timeline and locate the year and month you want to view. Here’s how:
- Go to your profile page by clicking your name at the top of Facebook.
- On your profile page, click See Your About Info, then click See All next to Life Events.
- On the Life Events page, click the year in the left sidebar for the time period you want to see memories from.
- Scroll down to the month of the memory you want to find. Memories will be organized in reverse-chronological order within each month.
- Locate the specific post or life event you want to view on the timeline.
This method works best if you’re looking for a major life event that you know the rough date of, like a wedding, graduation, new job, etc. Since you can jump directly to a year and month, it’s faster than endlessly scrolling back on your timeline.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
If you’re having trouble finding a specific memory using any of the methods above, here are a few things to check:
- Make sure the post’s privacy setting is set to Public or Friends. If a post is set to Only Me or a custom audience, it may not show up in search results or memories.
- Try searching for keywords related to the memory, like the name of a person tagged, the location, or words used in the post.
- Check if the post may have been deleted. If you or the original poster deleted the memory, it will no longer appear in your memories feed.
- Memories from before 2011 may not always show up, since Facebook’s data from that time period is less complete.
If you still can’t find the memory you’re looking for, it’s possible that it may be lost due to Facebook’s data retention practices. Not all posts and photos are kept forever, especially from the early days of Facebook.
Conclusion
While it’s not as simple as it used to be, there are still several ways to access your Facebook memories from any date you want. Whether you use the search bar, the Memories page, or your Timeline, you can find and relive your favorite moments from years past.
Looking back on old memories can be a fun and nostalgic experience. It’s a reminder of how much we’ve grown and changed over the years. Facebook memories let us share those experiences with friends and family, and preserve them for the future.
So the next time you want to take a trip down memory lane, give these methods a try. You might be surprised at the forgotten moments you uncover. Happy memory hunting!
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