What is YAFFCA?
How does it work?
How do I use it?
Frequently Asked Questions
License & Copyright
Facebook Friendslist Backup and Comparer
What is YAFFCA?
YAFFCA stands for “Yet Another Facebook Friendslist Comparer App”. It is a Web browser-based application that allows you to backup your list of active Facebook friends and then compare the different backups in order to identify any missing or appeared friends. In other words, you can use this tool to track any unfriendings, or the account reactivation of previously inactive friends, as well as any new friends you have added.
How does it work?
YAFFCA consists of two parts: (1) a bookmarklet and (2) a webpage.
1) The YAFFCA bookmarklet allows you to backup your friendslist.
2) The YAFFCA webpage allows you to compare the different backups
How do I use it?
Step #1: Getting the YAFFCA bookmarklet
First of all, you will need to make your Web browser’s Bookmarks/Favorites (tool)bar appear. Click on the link that corresponds to the browser you want to use in order to see how this can be done:
Firefox: Bookmarks toolbar
Chrome: Bookmarks bar, or press Ctrl+Shift+B
Opera: Bookmarks bar
Safari (Mac): Favorites bar, press Cmd+Shift+B
IE: Favorites bar It doesn’t work in Explorer. Get a real browser.
(Note: certain other browsers also have a Bookmarks bar.)
Now that you can see this toolbar, it’s time to place the YAFFCA bookmarklet there. To do this, you will need to drag and drop the blue button (below) onto this bar.
If you did this correctly, you should now be able to see a new button in your Bookmarks/Favorites (tool)bar with the title “YAFFCA v1.1”.
Step #2: Using the YAFFCA bookmarklet
Now that you have the bookmarklet, it’s time to use it. Since YAFFCA does not mess with Facebook’s source code (because it’s against FB’s Terms), you will need to do some manual work first.
1) You have to create a new, empty, list of friends (this only needs to happen once). You can follow Facebook’s instructions here in order to do this. Long story short:
1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/lists
2. Click on “+ Create List”
3. Give the list a name (any name you want)
4. Press the “Create” button (this will create the list and take you inside)
(You should not add any friends to this list because that could prevent you from seeing the “Add Friends to List” button).
If you already have an empty friendslist, you don’t have to create a new one; just click on it to enter it.
Update (07/2018): This button no longer appears. Read below for updated instructions.
2) Click the “Add Friends to List” button. Once inside the list, click the “Manage List” button (top right corner) and then select the “Edit List” option in the sub-menu that appears. In the new pop up window, select the “Friends” option. This will pop up a list of your friends.
2.5) Optional step: if you want to back up your list of Liked Pages, or the people you are Following, instead of your Friends, on the list pop-up that just appeared select “Pages” or “Following” instead.
3) Scroll down to the end of this list. This is important, because it will allow for all your friends to appear. Make sure you reach the bottom of this list.
4) You can now click on the YAFFCA bookmarklet that you placed on your Bookmarks bar.
1. You will be asked a question: “Do you also want the photos?” Click OK if you want the profile photos of your friends to be included in the backup, or click Cancel if you just want the list of names.
2. If you clicked Cancel, you should now be looking at your list which is ready to be backed up. However, if you clicked OK, one more question appears: “Merge the photos with the list (slower)?” If the photos are merged/embedded in your list, you will only have to backup a single file. If the photos are not merged, you will have to backup one file plus one folder full of your friends’ photos. Merging is a bit slower but it’s worth it, in my opinion. Click OK to Merge or Cancel if you prefer separate files. If you click OK, you can watch the progress percentage on the title of the browser’s tab.
3. You should now be looking at a clean and tidy list of your active friends. (Please note that your friends who have deactivated their account will not appear on this list). In order to backup this page, press CTRL+S (or click on File => Save As) and then save this file somewhere safe.
Repeat this process whenever necessary to keep regular backups of your active friendslist.
Step #3: Getting the YAFFCA webpage
In order to compare two YAFFCA backups to each other, you will need to download the YAFFCA webpage (click here to get the latest version).
After you download the zip file, you will need to extract the webpage out of it. Microsoft has a guide on how you can achieve this (= right-click on it and hit Extract all). You can also use other applications for this purpose (e.g. 7-Zip, WinRAR, etc.).
Step #4: Using the YAFFCA webpage
When you have two different YAFFCA backup lists that you want to compare, double-click on the YAFFCA webpage that you extracted previously and follow the steps presented in there. You will need to:
1. Select the old YAFFCA backup file
2. Select the new YAFFCA backup file
3. Click the button to see who is missing and who has appeared
Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will YAFFCA send any of my Facebook account information to you?
No, everything runs and stays on your computer!
Why did you create YAFFCA?
For many years now, I have been using browser add-ons, scripts and even Facebook apps that others had built, in order to track my “unfriendings”. However, Facebook keeps breaking or removing them because they tend to inject code into Facebook’s source code (which goes against its Terms), so I wanted to create a script that didn’t mess with FB’s source. YAFFCA does not modify Facebook’s code. YAFFCA parses the output of your friendslist (what you see) and presents it in a tidy manner, allowing you to back it up and compare it with your previous YAFFCA backups. Also, since everything stays on your computer, you don’t have to worry about any privacy issues (as long as you keep your backup files in a safe place).
So, is YAFFCA a Facebook hack?
Not with the modern definition of the word “hack” (made popular by the media). The YAFFCA bookmarklet uses the information of your friendlist to produce a cleaner/tidy version of your list which you can keep as a backup on your computer. (You already have access to this information anyway; it’s just presented differently). The YAFFCA webpage just compares the different backups. That’s all!
Why doesn’t Facebook offer this feature already?
You would have to ask them.
If a person is missing from my list, did they unfriend me, disable their profile or delete their account?
If the YAFFCA webpage identifies that a friend is missing, you will need to investigate. Click on their link to go to their Facebook profile. If it’s there and you can see the “Add Friend” button, then they unfriended you (sorry, it happens, don’t take it personally, to each their own, better now than later, you’ll feel better tomorrow, etc. etc.). However, if you see the “Sorry, this page isn’t available” message, then you will need to go to your Friends list and search for them. If you find their name there, it means they just disabled their profile, so they could be back in the future. If not, then they deleted their account (or they blocked you!).
Wow, the YAFFCA webpage sure is ugly!
I originally made this for personal use, and I just wanted something that worked. Please feel free to download the source code and redesign it!
Where can I find the source code of YAFFCA?
You can find the full, readable, version of the source code at the YAFFCA project on GitHub (or here).
Oh, I don’t know how to read JavaScript!
No worries! You can use free Web tutorials (Codecademy, MDN, KhanAcademy) to learn how to read (and write) JavaScript. It takes time and effort (just like everything else in life), but everyone can do it!
Can I compare my YAFFCA backup with someone else’s?
Sure, if that’s what you want. Apart from being an unfriend finder, YAFFCA can also be used to explore potential future friends. If a friend sends you their YAFFCA backup file, you can compare it with yours to see which of their friends you don’t have and which of your friends they don’t have. Just bear in mind that, if you have merged the photos in the backups, it could take YAFFCA a few seconds to load all the different friends.
*NEW*: Can I use YAFFCA to backup my list of Liked Facebook Pages or even people I am Following?
Apparently so! As a side-effect (this wasn’t originally planned), YAFFCA can be used to backup the Pages you have liked, as well the people you are Following! In order to do this, when you open the empty friends list in Step #2, click on its top left drop-down menu and select “Pages” or “Following” instead of “Friends”, and then follow the normal process as usual! In the end, you may want to rename your backup file to “Active Pages” instead of “Active Friends” (note to self: update script to do this automatically).
I have another question that is not listed here!
You can contact me using the form on my homepage.
License & Copyright
YAFFCA is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPLv3). This Web application is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This Web application is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
YAFFCA – Copyright 2015 – Konstantinos Gkoutzis
