Where to find your Facebook memories
Facebook stores your past posts, photos, and interactions in a section called Memories, which you can reach from your profile or the main menu. The fastest way is to click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) on your phone or the down arrow in the top right on desktop, then scroll down and tap or click "Memories". On mobile, you can also swipe left on your News Feed until you reach the Memories tab.
Once you open Memories, Facebook shows you content from this day in previous years — posts you made, photos you were tagged in, and interactions you had. The default view is "On This Day", which displays everything from past years on today's date. You can change the date using the calendar icon to see memories from any other day of the year.
If you want to browse all your memories rather than just today's date, tap or click "See All" at the top of the Memories section. This opens a full view where you can scroll through years of content, filter by year, or search for specific memories using keywords.
Key Takeaways
- Open Memories by clicking the menu icon and selecting "Memories" — this is the same on both mobile and desktop versions of Facebook.
- The default view shows posts and photos from this day in previous years, but you can change the date using the calendar to see memories from any other day.
- Use "See All" to browse your entire history of memories, filter by year, or search for specific posts by keyword.
- You can control which memories appear by adjusting your privacy settings and choosing whether to share memories with your friends.
Filtering memories by year or type
When you open the full Memories view, Facebook lets you narrow down what you see. At the top of the screen, you'll find a filter that shows "All Years" — click or tap this to select a specific year and see only memories from that time period. This is useful if you want to revisit a particular chapter of your life without scrolling through decades of content.
Facebook also shows you different types of memories: posts you created, photos you uploaded, photos you were tagged in, and interactions like comments and reactions on other people's posts. The platform automatically organizes these, though you cannot manually sort by type from the Memories section itself. If you want to find only photos, for example, your best option is to visit your profile and click the "Photos" tab instead.
Searching for specific memories
If you remember roughly when you posted something but not the exact date, use the search bar at the top of the Memories section. Type a keyword — a person's name, a place, an event, or any word from the post — and Facebook will return matching memories. This search only looks through your own posts and tagged photos, not through comments or reactions.
The search results show the most relevant matches first, with the date displayed below each result. You can click any result to view the full post or photo. If the search returns too many results, try adding more specific details — for example, searching "Hawaii 2019" instead of just "Hawaii" will narrow the list significantly.
Sharing and hiding memories
When you find a memory you want to share, click or tap the three dots in the corner of that memory's card. A menu appears with options to share the memory to your timeline, send it to a friend, or share it to a story. Sharing a memory to your timeline creates a new post that links back to the original, so your friends see both the old content and the fact that you're revisiting it.
If a memory is painful or you'd rather not see it again, you can hide it from your Memories section. Click the three dots and select "Hide Memory" or "Hide This Memory" — the exact wording depends on your device. Hidden memories still exist on your profile and in your archive, but they won't appear in your Memories feed. You can unhide memories later by going to your settings and finding the hidden memories list.
Controlling which memories appear
Facebook's Memories feature pulls from your entire history, including posts you may have forgotten about or would rather not revisit. You can adjust what shows up by visiting your privacy settings and looking for the Memories section. From there, you can choose whether to see memories from a specific date range, or turn off the "On This Day" notifications that appear on your home screen.
If you want to prevent certain posts from ever appearing in Memories, the most reliable method is to delete them from your profile entirely. Alternatively, you can make old posts private or delete them from your archive. Keep in mind that changing the privacy of a post after you've posted it doesn't remove it from Memories — you'll need to delete it or hide it individually.
Accessing memories on mobile versus desktop
The Memories feature works the same way on Facebook's mobile app and desktop website, though the navigation is slightly different. On mobile, you reach Memories by tapping the menu icon (three lines) and scrolling to find it, or by swiping left on your News Feed. On desktop, click the down arrow in the top right corner and select "Memories" from the dropdown menu.
Once you're in Memories, the layout is nearly identical on both platforms. You see the same "On This Day" view by default, the same calendar tool to change dates, and the same options to share or hide memories. The main difference is screen size — desktop gives you more room to see multiple memories at once, while mobile shows them one at a time as you scroll.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see memories from people who are no longer my friends?
If you were tagged in someone's photo or post before you unfriended them, that memory may still appear in your Memories section. However, you won't be able to view the original post if their privacy settings prevent you from seeing it. If you want to remove these memories from your feed, you can hide them individually.
Why am I seeing memories I don't remember posting?
Facebook's Memories section includes posts you created, photos you uploaded, and photos you were tagged in by others. You may see content you forgot about because it's been years since you posted it, or because you were tagged in someone else's photo. You can hide any memory you don't want to see again.
Does Facebook notify my friends when I share a memory?
When you share a memory to your timeline, it appears as a new post and your friends may see it in their News Feed depending on their settings. Facebook does not send a separate notification saying you shared a memory. If you send a memory directly to a friend through Messenger, they will receive a notification.
Can I recover a memory I deleted?
If you deleted a post or photo, it's gone from your profile and won't appear in Memories. Facebook does not keep a separate archive of deleted memories. However, if you only hid a memory from your Memories feed, it still exists on your profile and you can unhide it through your settings.