How to Use the Facebook Group Members Export

Before you start

• Your Facebook account set to English.
  • The Phantom may not dismiss the cookie popup or scroll properly in other languages. Some additional languages are supported, but not all.
  • Contact us if you need compatibility for a specific one.
• Awareness of platform limits:
  • You can safely extract up to 4,000–5,000 members per group in a single launch.
  • This Phantom doesn't resume mid-list. Extract large groups in one run if possible.

Step 1: Connect your Facebook account

To let the Phantom act on your behalf:

1. Install the PhantomBuster browser extension and connect your Facebook session in one click.
2. If you’re not using Chrome or Firefox, you can retrieve your session cookie manually (see our cookie guide).
   • Note that for this Phantom, you’ll need to retrieve two session cookies from Facebook and paste both values into the corresponding fields in your Phantom’s setup:
     • c_user cookie
     • xs cookie

Step 2: Provide group URLs

Tell the Phantom which Facebook groups you want to process.

• A single group URL: Paste the Facebook group URL.
• Provide a Google Sheet with Facebook group URLs (make sure it’s shared with “Anyone with the link”).
• Upload a CSV file with Facebook group URLs (make sure it’s publicly accessible, and note that CSV upload is only available on paid plans).

→ If you’re using a spreadsheet, the Phantom defaults to the first column (A). To use a different column, enter the column’s header name in the field “Name of column containing profile URLs.”

Step 3: Configure extraction settings

Fine-tune how many groups and members are processed per run:

1. Number of members to extract per group (optional):
   • Default = empty, which will include all groups in your input.
   • Facebook only loads up to around 4,000–5,000 members per group, and this Phantom cannot go beyond that. Even if you combine it with other Phantoms (like Facebook Profile Scraper), you won’t be able to extract more than what Facebook itself makes visible.
     • To maximize results, set the number high enough to reach the 4–5k cap in one launch.
     • This Phantom can't resume in the middle of a group members list between launches, so extracting in one go is best.
2. Number of groups to process per launch (optional):
   • This setting only applies if you are using a spreadsheet or CSV file as input.
   • Default = empty, which will include all groups in one launch.
3. Remove duplicate profiles between groups (optional):
   • Enable if you want the Phantom to skip duplicates across multiple groups.

Result file settings (dropdown in setup)

1. Name your results file (optional)

   • You can customize the file name.

     If you rename the file between launches, the Phantom will create a new results file and start processing inputs from scratch.

2. Fields to keep (optional)
   • Export only the fields you care about by listing them (comma-separated).
     Example: profileUrl, job, location.
   • This generates a second CSV file with just those fields.
   • Learn more in our guide: Customize how your Phantom results files are saved.

Step 4: Select launch frequency

Choose how often the Phantom should run:

1. Launch manually: Start the Phantom yourself whenever you need.
2. Launch once at a specific time: schedule a one-time run at a set date and time.
3. Launch repeatedly: schedule regular runs (e.g. once per day, several times during working hours).
4. Launch after another Phantom: chain automations together so this Phantom starts right after another finishes.
5. Advanced scheduling: customize the exact minutes, hours, days, or months when the Phantom should run.

→ For a complete walkthrough of scheduling options, see our guide to scheduling Phantoms automatically.

Step 5 (Optional): Advanced settings

Advanced settings are available if you want to fine-tune how your Phantom runs, but by default they’re already optimized for most use cases.

We recommend leaving them as they are unless a guide specifically instructs you to change something.

→ For a detailed overview of all advanced options (like execution limits, retries, email notifications, proxies, webhooks, and file management), see our Advanced settings guide.

Proxies: highly recommended for Facebook

Our Phantoms run from the cloud, so they connect to your account from IP addresses worldwide. Without a proxy, this can sometimes trigger extra login checks or cause Facebook to see activity from unexpected locations.

You can configure proxies in the Phantom's Advanced settings, under the Proxies tab. From there, decide which proxy to use:

1. PhantomBuster proxy:
   • Select Maintain the same fixed IP for stability (as long as the proxy remains available).
   • Choose the proxy location closest to you (6 regions available).
2. External proxy:
   • If you need a location not covered by PhantomBuster, connect your own proxy in the same menu.
   • Configuration steps will differ depending on your provider.

You can also try running without a proxy at first. If Facebook asks you to confirm logins or results look inconsistent, enable a proxy to lock your location.

Launch and results

When you’re ready:

1. Click Launch to start your Phantom.
2. Once it finishes, open the Results tab in the Phantom console to see extracted data.
3. Download your results as a CSV or JSON file.

→ To learn how to export your data to Google Sheets, integrate with other tools, or reuse it in more automations, check our Access and Export your Phantom Results guide.

Export and input limits on the Free plan
If you’re on the Free plan or Free trial, some features are limited:
- CSV exports include only the first 10 rows of results.
- CSV download links (for dynamic viewing in Google Sheets or integrations) are not available.
- JSON exports are not available.
- CSV upload as an input method is not supported.
To unlock all features, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

What you give (Input) and What you get (Output)

This section gives you a detailed breakdown of everything you need to provide to run this Phantom, and everything you’ll receive once it completes.

What you give (Input)

What you get (Output)

Tips and troubleshooting

Common pitfalls

• Providing profile or post URLs instead of group URLs.
• Using a private spreadsheet (make sure it’s set to “Anyone with the link”).
• Assuming the Phantom will resume where it left off. This Phantom doesn't resume mid-list for the same group. Each launch starts from the beginning of the group member list. Running the Phantom multiple times on the same group doesn't allow you to extract more than what Facebook makes visible.
• Expecting to extract more than 5,000 members from a single group. Facebook only loads approximately 4,000–5,000 members per group. The Phantom can't extract more than what Facebook displays. Running multiple launches doesn' bypass this platform limit, and results aren't cumulative beyond Facebook’s visible cap.
  • Other Phantoms (like Facebook Profile Scraper) can enrich the members you’ve already exported, but they can't uncover additional members hidden by Facebook.
• Relaunching to capture missing members. If a launch extracts fewer members than expected, you can relaunch it. In some cases, additional members within Facebook’s visible range may be captured on subsequent runs. However, this will never exceed Facebook’s ~4–5k display limit for a single group.
• Growing groups over time: If new members join the group after your last extraction, you can run the Phantom again to capture those newly joined members. This doesn't increase the maximum number of members accessible beyond Facebook’s visible limit.
• Basic profile data: This Phantom only extracts basic info (e.g., names, profile URLs). Use the Facebook Profile Scraper Phantom to enrich with more details.
• Language mismatch: If your account isn’t set to English, the Phantom may not scroll beyond 10 profiles.
• Facebook may sometimes flag first or second launches as unusual. If that happens, log into your Facebook account, confirm it’s you, and relaunch.

If you run into issues

• Check how to troubleshoot your phantom using Logs.
• Browse the Fix Issues & Troubleshoot Errors section for solutions to common problems.
• Review our Automation Rate Limits by Platform guide.
• Check our Best Practices for Social Media Automation guide.

Suggested automations

After exporting group members, you can:

• LinkedIn Profile URL Finder → Look up likely LinkedIn profiles for your exported members using names and optional company/location.
• (Optional) LinkedIn Profile Scraper → If you need LinkedIn data, scrape the matched URLs returned by the URL Finder for richer professional info.
• AI Advanced Enricher → Analyze and segment your member list (e.g., industry, role, ICP tags) to prioritize outreach.