How do I capture posts from a Facebook profile?

PostSnag captures the public posts on any Facebook profile by reading them as you scroll, using your own logged-in Facebook session, then sends everything to your dashboard the moment you click Export To Dashboard.

There's no button that captures a whole profile in one click. PostSnag works alongside your normal scrolling: the more of a profile you scroll through, the more posts it captures. Here's the exact flow from opening a profile to seeing it in your dashboard.

Before you start

• PostSnag is installed and pinned to your toolbar. If it isn't yet, see How do I install PostSnag from the Chrome Web Store?

• You're signed into Facebook in that browser tab, the same way you always are. PostSnag never asks for your Facebook password.

• You're signed into PostSnag itself, with your email and password or Continue with Google. The panel prompts you to sign in if you aren't.

• You have the profile open, either by searching for it on Facebook or pasting its URL directly into the address bar.

Capture a profile's posts

1. Open the Facebook profile you want to capture.

2. Click the PostSnag toolbar icon, or the floating PostSnag button in the corner of the page, to open the panel.

3. If the panel asks you to sign in, enter your email and password or choose Continue with Google.

4. Confirm the panel shows Scanning Profile with the correct name or username underneath it (or "Profile" followed by a number, for a numeric profile.php URL).

5. Scroll down through the profile at a steady pace. Posts are captured as they load onto your screen, the same posts you'd see scrolling normally.

6. Watch the Collected count in the panel climb as you go.

7. Keep an eye on the status pill next to it. It reads Capturing, with a pulsing dot, while a post is being processed.

8. Keep scrolling until you've covered as much of the profile's history as you want. There's no required stopping point.

9. Wait for the status pill to switch to Synced before you stop scrolling or compare counts. A pass that's still "Capturing" hasn't fully settled yet.

10. Click Export To Dashboard (it reads Sign Up To Export if you're signed out) to send everything you just captured up to your PostSnag dashboard.

[Screenshot: The PostSnag panel open on a Facebook profile, showing the Collected count, the Synced status pill, and the Export To Dashboard button]

What happens after you export

Exporting opens your PostSnag dashboard in a new tab, already signed in, landing directly on that profile's page. Nothing reaches your dashboard until you click Export To Dashboard: scrolling and capturing only ever builds the data up on your own device, so you can capture at your own pace and export whenever you're ready.

Everything you capture stays saved locally in the meantime, even if you close the tab. Come back later, open the same profile, and keep scrolling from where you left off. PostSnag recognizes posts it already captured by their permalink, so scrolling back over a section you've already covered, or exporting again after a later session, never creates duplicates. It only adds what's new.

Profiles, Pages, and creators all work the same way

The steps above work identically whether the profile is a personal account, a business or public figure Page, or a creator's profile running in professional mode. PostSnag doesn't have a separate mode for any of them; it reads whatever public posts are on the page as you scroll. See How do I capture posts from a Facebook Page? and How do I capture a creator or public figure's posts? for notes specific to each.

If you open someone's profile from inside a Facebook Group, either from the member list or by clicking their name on a post, PostSnag captures their posts the same way but tags them to that group, kept separate from their regular profile posts. See How do Facebook Groups work in PostSnag?.

Tips for a clean capture

• Let the profile page fully load before you start scrolling. Refresh once if you clicked through quickly from somewhere else.

• Scroll steadily in one direction, rather than jumping around the page or scrolling in short bursts.

• Give photos, albums, and videos a moment to load before scrolling past them; PostSnag only captures media that has actually finished loading on screen.

• Start from the top of the profile rather than partway down, so the earliest posts you scroll past get the best chance of being captured.

For the full list, see How do I get the most complete and accurate capture?

If something looks off

A capture that looks incomplete or slightly mismatched is usually expected, not a bug:

• A profile's very first post seems to be missing: this is a normal side effect of a fresh page load. See Why does the first post on a profile seem to be missing?.

• The Collected count changes while you scroll back up: PostSnag is recognizing posts it already has, not losing or duplicating them. See Why does the Collected count change when I scroll back up?.

• Your Collected count doesn't match what Facebook itself shows: PostSnag counts what it actually captured from your screen, not a number from Facebook's own backend. See Why do post counts look different across the panel, dashboard, and Facebook?.

• Nothing gets captured at all: confirm you're signed into Facebook in that tab and that posts are actually visible before you scroll. See Why is nothing getting captured on a profile?.

Free plan limits

On the Free plan, PostSnag saves the first 30 posts per profile on a given scan, and allows 3 profile scans per week. The panel shows a notice above the export button when either limit applies, with a link to upgrade. Pro and Lifetime remove both caps. See What's included in the Free plan?.

Common questions

Do I need to scroll all the way to a profile's first post?
No. Capture as much or as little as you want. Come back and scroll further whenever you like: PostSnag recognizes posts it already has, so you won't get duplicates, and further scrolling just adds whatever's new.

Can I capture more than one profile at the same time?
Not in a single session. Capture is one profile at a time: finish with one, open the next, and repeat the flow.

Does PostSnag like, comment, or post anything while it captures?
No. Capture is read-only. PostSnag only reads the posts already on your screen and never acts on your behalf on Facebook, so it never likes, comments, posts, messages, or follows anyone.

What if I close the tab before exporting?
Whatever you already captured stays saved on your device. Open the profile again when you're ready and click Export To Dashboard.

Will the profile owner know I captured their posts?
No. Capturing only reads what's already public on the page in your own browser and leaves no trace on their profile. See Can someone tell if I captured or analyzed their profile?