Snapchat is charging for Memories: here’s how to save everything before the deadline 👻

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Got the notification from Snapchat over the past few weeks? The one politely (or not so politely) informing you that those thousands of memories you’ve been storing for free are about to cost you money? Welcome to the new era of paid storage. After offering unlimited space for nearly a decade, Snapchat is pulling out the credit card reader. The good news? You still have time to act. The bad news? You need to move fast and smart. Whether you’re Team « I’ll pay, » Team « export everything, » or Team « time to declutter, » this guide walks you through managing your Memories before the deadline hits. Because let’s be honest—losing 8 years of digital memories would really suck.

The end of free (unlimited) storage 📦

Since September 2025, Snapchat has officially ended unlimited free storage for Memories. The new rule is straightforward: 5GB maximum without spending a dime. Beyond that, you’ve got three options: subscribe to a paid plan (ranging from $2 to $16 per month depending on the tier), export your content elsewhere, or delete what exceeds the limit.

For most casual users with just a few hundred photos, nothing changes. But for Snap addicts, content creators, or anyone using Memories as a visual diary, it’s a different story. Snapchat justifies this shift by pointing to infrastructure costs—hosting over 1 trillion Memories since 2016 isn’t cheap. The platform is joining the ranks of cloud services that charge for storage space, much like Google Photos or iCloud.

The transition comes with a 12-month grace period for accounts exceeding 5GB, during which you can decide your strategy without losing content. But heads up: after that window closes, your newest Snaps exceeding the limit will be automatically deleted.

How to export your Memories: step-by-step guide 💾

Before you panic or pull out your credit card, know that there are several ways to save your Memories. The first solution, fastest for grabbing a few important memories, works through the app itself. Open Snapchat, swipe up to access your Memories, long-press a Snap to activate selection mode, choose all the items you want to retrieve (up to about a hundred at a time to avoid bugs), then tap the export icon at the bottom left and select « Save to camera roll » or « Export to gallery. » Your content will end up in your usual Photos app. Simple, effective, but time-consuming if you’ve got thousands of memories.

For a massive export, the official method goes through Snapchat’s website. Head to accounts.snapchat.com from a computer (it’s more stable), log in, then access the « My Data » section. Under « Select the data to include, » enable only the « Export your memories » option, choose the date range (pro tip: go for « All time » if you want everything), confirm your email address, and submit the request. Processing can take anywhere from a few hours to several days depending on your library size. Snapchat will email you a download link once the export is ready. You’ll receive a ZIP file containing an HTML file that references all your content, plus photos and videos organized by date.

But here’s the catch: Snapchat’s official export has one major flaw. When you download your Memories through this method, the metadata (capture date, GPS location) gets stripped from the files. It’s present in the provided HTML file, but not in the media files themselves. For perfectionists who want to preserve this information, developers have created Python scripts available on GitHub that parse the HTML file, download media one by one, and reintegrate the correct metadata. It’s technical, but it’s the only way to get a truly complete and usable export.

Where to store your Memories after export? ☁️

Once your memories are exported, you need somewhere to put them. The most obvious solution is local storage on your smartphone, but watch out for capacity limits. A 128GB iPhone or equivalent Android fills up fast with thousands of photos and videos. For safer archiving, transfer your exports to a computer and create backups on an external hard drive. External drives with 1 or 2TB now cost less than $60 and offer plenty of space for a lifetime of digital memories. It’s the most economical long-term solution, with a one-time purchase and no recurring subscription.

If you prefer staying in the cloud, several alternatives exist. Google Photos offers 15GB of free storage shared across Gmail, Drive, and Photos—beyond that you’ll need Google One ($1.99/month for 100GB). iCloud provides 5GB free for Apple users, then plans starting at $0.99/month for 50GB. Dropbox, OneDrive, and similar services also offer freemium models with varying limits. The cloud advantage? Your memories are accessible from any device, automatically backed up, and protected against loss or phone damage. The downside? Recurring costs that add up year after year.

Some users opt for a hybrid approach: keep a local copy on an external drive for long-term archiving, and sync recent memories with a cloud service for easy daily access. It’s the most balanced strategy between security, accessibility, and cost. And if you’re really attached to the Snapchat ecosystem? The three paid Memories plans (100GB at $2/month, 250GB included with Snapchat+ at $4/month, or 5TB via Snapchat Platinum at around $16/month) remain a valid option if you actively use the app and its premium features. But compare carefully with cloud giants’ pricing before committing.

Final thoughts: the end of « free forever » 🧐

Snapchat’s pivot illustrates a broader trend in tech: the gradual end of the « everything free and unlimited » model. After years of tech giants subsidizing our usage to capture market share, it’s time to monetize these services. Google Photos already killed unlimited storage in 2021. Amazon Photos remains free and unlimited… but only for photos from Prime subscribers. Dropbox has reduced its free quotas. The list goes on. This evolution raises a fundamental question: what value do we place on our digital memories? Are we willing to pay to keep them in the cloud, or do we prefer taking back control with local storage? There’s no universal right answer, only choices that match your usage and budget.

What’s certain is that this transition also marks a necessary wake-up call about our relationship with personal data. Entrusting years of memories to a single platform without backup was already risky before this announcement. Snapchat reminds us that free services can change their business model overnight. The real lesson? Never put all your digital eggs in one basket. Diversify your backups, maintain control over your content, and consider regular exports as good digital hygiene, not an exceptional chore.

What about you—which strategy will you adopt? Snapchat subscription, migration to another cloud, or back to good old external hard drives? Have you already started exporting your Memories, or are you waiting to see how things play out? Share your thoughts and tips in the comments—the TechGriot community is here to exchange ideas!