Why do post counts look different across the panel, dashboard, and Facebook?

PostSnag's Collected count reflects what it actually captured from your screen as you scrolled, not a number pulled from Facebook's own backend, so it's normal for the panel, your dashboard, and Facebook's own display to show slightly different totals for the same profile. A close match is the healthy result to expect. An exact match, down to the post, isn't the standard PostSnag is built to hit, and it isn't a sign of a problem when the numbers don't line up perfectly.

This holds even when you scroll carefully and let a full capture pass finish. It comes from how capture actually works, reading what loads in your own browser as you scroll, not from anything missing from your account or broken in your capture.

Why this happens

• PostSnag counts what loads on your screen, not a server total. Capturing happens as you scroll through your own logged-in Facebook session. The Collected count only ever reflects posts that actually rendered in your browser during that session, so it can't be a byte-for-byte copy of a number Facebook computes on its own servers.

• Facebook's own displayed count isn't a precise, live figure either. The post or activity numbers Facebook shows on a profile can be rounded, cached, or affected by that profile's own privacy and visibility settings. Treat it as a reference point, not a fixed target to match exactly.

• The panel updates in two stages. A fast running count climbs while you're actively scrolling and posts are still loading in. It settles into a fuller, final count once that capture pass finishes and the status pill switches from "Capturing" to "Synced." Comparing counts while it still reads "Capturing" can look mismatched for a few seconds; that's expected and resolves on its own.

• The dashboard reflects whatever filters are currently set, not always your full capture. A profile's page on the dashboard has its own type filter (All, Video, Photo, Album, Link, Text), a date range (Last 7 days, Last 30 days, Last 90 days, or All time), a search box, and, for profiles you've captured both personally and inside a group, a source selector. If any of those are narrowed, for example the date range is set to "Last 30 days" instead of "All time," the dashboard is intentionally showing a subset. That's a filter doing its job, not missing data.

• Personal posts and group posts are kept separate. If you've captured the same person both from their own profile page and from inside a Facebook group, PostSnag stores those as two separate sets on purpose, so a person's "personal" count and their "group" count are two different numbers, not one total split unexpectedly.

• The dashboard needs a moment to catch up after export. Right after you click Export To Dashboard, give the new tab a few seconds to finish loading before comparing what it shows to the panel.

What to do

1. Wait for the panel's status pill to read "Synced" instead of "Capturing" before comparing any counts.

2. Scroll slowly and steadily through the whole profile from top to bottom, rather than jumping around, so PostSnag has the best chance to read everything that loads.

3. On the dashboard, reset the profile's filters to "All" post types and "All time," and clear any text from the search box, before comparing that count to the panel's Collected count.

4. If the profile has both personal and group-captured posts, check which source you're viewing using the source selector rather than assuming one combined number.

5. Give the dashboard a few seconds to finish loading after you export, then compare.

6. If a difference is still large after all of the above, rescan the profile from the top. PostSnag recognizes posts it already has, so re-scrolling won't create duplicates.

How to avoid it

Scroll a profile in one steady pass from top to bottom rather than jumping around, refreshing partway through, or scrolling up and down repeatedly. Only compare counts once the panel shows "Synced." When you check the dashboard, get in the habit of resetting filters to "All" and "All time" first, since a narrowed filter is one of the most common reasons a dashboard number looks lower than what the panel reported. Treat Facebook's own on-profile number as a rough reference rather than the number you're trying to match exactly.

[Screenshot: The panel's Collected count next to the status pill reading "Synced"]

Common questions

Why doesn't my Collected count match the number Facebook shows on the profile?
PostSnag counts what it actually captures from your screen as you scroll, not a number pulled from Facebook's backend. Facebook's own displayed count can also be rounded or cached. Small differences are normal.

Why does the panel's count change while I'm still scrolling?
The Collected count updates in real time as posts load, then settles once a capture pass finishes. Wait for "Synced" for the most accurate number.

Why does the dashboard show fewer posts than the panel said it collected?
Check the profile's filters first. A date range narrower than "All time," a post type other than "All," or leftover search text will all show a smaller number on purpose. Reset the filters and compare again.

Do personal posts and group posts count as one total?
No. PostSnag keeps a person's own profile posts separate from posts captured from that same person inside a group. Use the source selector on the profile page to see which set you're looking at.

What if the gap is large, not just a post or two?
Rescan the profile from the top, scrolling steadily. If the gap remains after a full rescan with filters reset, it reflects how much of the profile actually loaded on your screen during that pass.