Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. News

Facebook no longer lets you save your friends’ birthdays to your own calendar

Mathew Katz
By

Facebook quietly removed a feature that allowed users to export and sync their friends’ birthdays to an external calendar like iCal, Outlook, or Google Calendar.

While you can still export upcoming events — parties, get-togethers, and the like — the ability to save birthdays disappeared recently, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Digital Trends. The social network removed the ability to export birthdays in June, in the hopes of better protecting users’ personal information. The spokesperson added that under the previous system, a person’s birthday would remain on an external calendar if it had been downloaded, even if that user changed their privacy settings to mark their birthday as private.

Related Videos

The change was first reported by Rodrigo Ghedin of the Brazilian tech blog Manual do Usuário.

Facebook’s birthday reminders have long been one of its most popular features, helping make sure you never miss a friend or loved one’s special day. Birthdays are one of the few pieces of personal data required to start a new Facebook account.

Related

The social networking giant has expanded birthday-related features over the years, allowing users to raise money for a cause on their birthday or create personalized videos to wish someone a happy birthday. The social network often sends users push notifications about friends’ birthdays, hoping it will drive engagement on the platform.

But birthday reminders are also something that tether many people to Facebook. As Facebook faces increasing scrutiny over how it handles users’ private data and people move to delete their accounts, the network is now essentially holding your friends’ birthdays hostage. You can leave, but you can’t take your beloved birthday calendar with you. Facebook, it seems, owns that data. Facebook’s FAQ now says you can only export Facebook events to your external calendar.

According to a Wayback Machine archive, the same page said you could export birthdays as recently as April.

An archive of Facebook FAQ’s page from April.

An archived version of the German-language FAQ page discussed the birthday-export feature as recently as June, according to Manual do Usuário.

Facebook still allows you to download all your information, including chat logs, photos, videos, and more — but that option will only export events you’ve created or sent an RSVP to. Your friends’ birthdays aren’t a part of your own personal Facebook record.

Update 7/22: If you’re looking to restore this functionality and save Facebook birthdays to your calendar once again, coder Mohammad Ghasembeigi has created a workaround on Github.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Instagram test lets you pin particular posts to your profile
3D Instagram icon.

Instagram is testing a new feature that would let you pin particular posts above the grid on your profile page.

Testing is currently limited to a select group of users on the platform. To see if you’re one of them, simply go to one of your posts, tap the three dots at the top right, and look for the message “pin to your profile” in the list of options.

Read more
NordicTrack iSelect dumbbells let you customize your workout with Alexa
A person using the NordicTrack iSelect Adjustable Dumbbells.

Ever been cramming through an at-home strength training routine, only to realize you'll again need to drop whatever weights you're using, amble over to the dumbbell rack, drop the first set back in, then pick out a new size? Yes, it's small potatoes when looking at the scope of your regime as a whole, but a minor annoyance nonetheless. Leave it to the smart fitness innovators to cast aside even the smallest of qualms.

At CES 2022, NordicTrack, a leader in residential, cutting-edge fitness, announced the all-new iSelect Adjustable Dumbbells, the first Alexa-powered strength training weights. That's right, you'll be able to adjust the weight distribution of your bells without having to physically select a new pair.

Read more
Apple will now let you fix your own iPhone in win for right-to-repair campaigners
iPhone 13 Pro style shot.

Apple will finally let iPhone users repair their own iPhones, the company announced this week. It will start this effort with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series, with an expansion to older iPhones and more of its product lines in the near future. Dubbed Self Service Repair, it is aimed at those customers who have the experience, skills, and willingness to get hands-on with product repairs. The company will send (or rather, sell) people parts, tools, and a manual in what is a huge win for right-to-repair campaigners.

The new Apple Self Service Repair Online Store will offer more than 200 individual parts and tools for sale.  Apple also noted that these customers who get access to the parts, tools, and manuals join a club of more than 5,000 Apple Authorized Service Providers and 2,800 Independent Repair Providers.

Read more