How to Send Files on Facebook

Co-authored by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: August 12, 2021

Do you ever want to share files with someone? While you can use services like Google Drive, you can also use the popular social media platform Facebook. This wikiHow teaches you how to send a file using Facebook Messenger or Facebook.com. If you use the mobile app for Messenger on your phone or tablet, you'll only be able to send images that are in your camera roll.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Facebook Messenger on a Phone or Tablet

1
Open Facebook Messenger. It’s the blue chat bubble icon with a white lightning bolt on one of your Home screens or in the app drawer.
2
Select a contact. Tap the name of the person to whom you want to send the file. This opens a chat with that person.
- You can find recent contacts by tapping Chats, or start a new chat by tapping the edit icon.
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3
Send an image. If you want to send a photo from your camera roll, tap the icon that looks like a mountain with a moon on a square background, then tap a photo to select it.
- Using mobile, you can only send images from your camera roll; not files.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using Messenger.com on a Computer

1
Go to www.messenger.com in a web browser. You’ll need to be using a computer to use this method.
2
Sign in to Messenger. If prompted, enter your username and password to log in.
3
Select a contact. Click the name of the person to whom you want to send a file on the left side of the page.
- You can also click the pencil-on-paper icon to create a new chat.
4
Click +. This will prompt a new menu to open with the option to add a file.
5
Click
. Once you click the paperclip icon, your file manager (File Explorer for Windows and Finder for Mac) will open.
6
Select the file you want to send. In the window that opened, navigate to the file you want to send, then click it once to select it.
- To select multiple files at once, press Ctrl (Windows) or ⌘ Command (macOS) as you click each file.
7
Click Open. This adds the file to the chat message.
8
Click
. You'll see the paper airplane icon in the lower right corner of the chat window. Your chat and files will send.
- This feature may not be available in some countries in Europe.^{[1]
  X
  Research source}
- Since you can't share folders, you'll need to send each file by clicking Ctrl/Cmd' to select multiple files.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Facebook.com on a Computer

1
Go to www.facebook.com in a web browser.
2
Sign into Facebook. Type your account name into the blanks at the top-right corner of the screen and click Log In.
3
Select a contact in chat. Click the Messenger icon in the top menu to see a list of all your recent chats.
4
Click +. This will prompt a new menu to open with the option to add a file, like a PDF.
5
Click
. Once you click the paperclip icon, your file manager (File Explorer for Windows and Finder for Mac) will open.
6
Select the file you want to send. In the window that opened, navigate to the file you want to send, then click it once to select it.
- To select multiple files at once, press Ctrl (Windows) or ⌘ Command (macOS) as you click each file.
7
Click Open. This adds the file, like a PDF, to the chat message.
8
Click
. You'll see the paper airplane icon in the lower right corner of the chat window. Your chat and files will send.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Since you can't share folders, you'll need to send each file by clicking Ctrl/Cmd' to select multiple files.

Community Q&A

Question

This is not working anymore. In the new version of FB. I'm using a PC by the way.

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

You can't send ZIPs or other forms of compressed files for security reasons. You can select multiple files as shown in the article (PDFs, TXT, etc).