Export guide. X. Written 2026-08-24

How to download your X archive, and how long the wait actually is

X takes about six taps and then makes you wait. The reported wait is around 24 hours, sometimes several days. The file that matters is personalization.js, which names the interests X assigned you and the advertisers who added you to a list. Written 2026-08-24.

The exact taps, in order

Your part of this is about two to four minutes. Everything after that is X taking its time, and nothing you do speeds it up.

  1. Open settings On x.com or in the app, open More, then Settings and privacy.
  2. Open Your account It is the first item in the settings list.
  3. Tap Download an archive of your data This is the only path. There is no partial export.
  4. Confirm your password X asks you to re enter it, on X, not anywhere else. Nobody else should ever ask you for this.
  5. Confirm the code X sends a verification code to your email or phone. Enter it.
  6. Tap Request archive The button then reads Requesting, and you leave.
  7. Come back for the download When X tells you it is ready, return to the same screen and tap Download archive. Do it the day it lands.

How long it actually takes

WhatHow long reported
Reported typical waitAround 24 hours.
Reported outer rangeSeveral days for large or long standing accounts.
Platform statedX says the archive can take 24 hours or longer to prepare.
Your own timeAbout 2 minutes to request, including the verification code.

How big the file is

Usually 5 megabytes to a few hundred megabytes. Accounts with years of posts and uploaded media run into the gigabytes, because the archive includes copies of the images and video you posted. reported

What is actually inside

What is missing from it

Not in the file, whatever anyone tells you

The download expires

Do not lose the link

X does not publish a firm expiry for the archive link. The safe assumption is that it will not wait for you. Download it the day you are told it is ready.

Read this before you trust a number on this page

Every wait window and every file size here is reported, not measured by us. It comes from the platform's own published help pages and from what people consistently say happens, and platforms change both without telling anyone. When we have a request we timed ourselves, this page will say measured and print the date the measurement was taken. Until then, treat these as the range to plan around rather than a promise.

Written 2026-08-24. Export screens move every few months. If a step here has gone stale, tell us and it gets fixed rather than quietly rotting.

When the file arrives

When the file lands, you do not have to unzip it or understand it. Drop it into the free X Count and read the real numbers in about ten seconds. It runs entirely in your browser, there is no account, no email field and no card, and nothing is uploaded.

Run the free X CountWhat the Reading is

The full Reading is 6.99 a week or 69.99 a year. No free trial. There is a Refund button in your dashboard for 7 days, one tap, no reason required. The Count stays free forever either way.

Unlock my Reading

Questions about the X export

How long does the X archive take?

Reported at around 24 hours, sometimes several days for large accounts. X says it can take 24 hours or longer. We have not measured this ourselves, and when we do this page will say measured and give the date.

What is in personalization.js?

The interests X assigned to you, an inferred age band, inferred gender, inferred languages, and the advertiser audiences you were added to by name. It is a JavaScript file wrapping a JSON payload, which is why nothing on your computer opens it usefully.

Why does X want my password again?

Because the archive is your whole account history and X re authenticates before building it. It happens inside X. No tool, including ours, should ever ask you for a platform password, and if a page does, it is not us.

The free Count pages

One page per file. Each is the same browser local tool scoped to a different export, and none of them ask for an email.

The TikTok Countwatch history, searches, ad interestsThe Instagram Countad topics, off platform activity, searchesThe Spotify Countevery play, every skip, the inference fileThe Google Takeout Countsearch, YouTube, activity by productThe YouTube Countwatch history, searches, rewatchesThe X Countassigned interests, advertiser audiencesThe ChatGPT Countconversations, messages, hours

The other export guides

Same shape every time: the exact taps, the reported wait, the real size, what is inside, and what is missing.

TikTok exportreported few minutes to 4 daysInstagram exportreported minutes to a few daysGoogle exportreported minutes to a few daysSpotify exportreported 5 days, up to 30 for the restAmazon exportreported days, up to 30 for everythingLinkedIn exportreported 10 minutes, or 24 hoursNetflix exportreported days, up to 30