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5GB, then a thumbnail
Snapchat deleting memories 2026
Snapchat says it will not automatically delete Memories because you do not upgrade.
Free · 1 restore / day · first 15 photos
No Snapchat export yet? How to get one, and a sample to try
The tool needs the Memories ZIP from Snapchat. You request it once:
- Sign in at accounts.snapchat.com and open My Data.
- Under Select data to include, turn on Export your Memories (add the JSON files if Snapchat offers them), pick the date range, confirm your email, then submit.
- Snapchat emails you when the ZIP is ready. Download every ZIP part.
- Come back here and drop them. Nothing leaves your browser.
Snapchat says it aims to deliver within 7 days; big accounts can take longer.
The rule, in plain English
Everyone gets up to 5GB of Memories storage at no charge. If you have saved more than that, Snap offers storage plans — see do you have to pay for Snapchat Memories? for who actually needs a plan versus a free My Data export. The Help Center page How do I manage my Memories storage? is the source for what follows. Read that page if the wording here and the app ever disagree.
Starting in January 2027, Memories that are more than one year old and are not part of your oldest 5GB will be archived. They remain stored on Snapchat. You still have access to Memories saved within the last year, and to your oldest 5GB.
An archived Memory appears as a thumbnail. To open, edit, or share it you need a storage plan. The same Help Center section says you can subscribe, or download your Memories and open them outside the app.
Snap’s newsroom post Introducing Memories Storage Plans (26 September 2025) is the announcement: plans for people over 5GB, 12 months of temporary storage for the overflow, and a download to your device. That post does not use the word archive and does not name January 2027. The January 2027 date and the thumbnail rule are on the Help Center page, not in the newsroom post.
What is not archived
When Snap announced the plans, it promised 12 months of temporary storage before any change. The Help Center repeats that no Memories will be archived before January 2027, and that the app will warn you first.
- Nothing is archived before January 2027.
- Memories from the last year stay openable.
- Your oldest 5GB stays openable.
- People under 5GB are outside this change. The newsroom post says nothing changes for them.
- Snapchat says it will not automatically delete Memories because you do not upgrade.
The official storage price
On the Help Center page, checked 24 September 2026, Snap says that in the US a 100GB Memories-only plan is $1.99 a month or $20 a year. The same page says Snapchat+ includes 250GB and Snapchat+ Platinum includes 5TB, and that prices may vary by market. It does not print a dollar price for Snapchat+ or Platinum. The in-app Upgrade Storage screen is the price that applies where you live.
That fee is Snap’s storage plan. Downloading My Data is still Snap’s free export. A date fixer does not buy Snapchat storage.
Download is the other official option
The Help Center lists downloading Memories as the way to open them outside the app. Request that from accounts.snapchat.com → My Data, with Memories and JSON included, and download every part of the ZIP. This site does not log in and does not pull files from Snap’s servers. The search “when is Snap deleting memories” is When is Snap deleting memories?. The download tool reads that ZIP.
A download is not a finished camera roll. Three things in the official ZIP are why photo apps still look wrong after you export.
Why the exported files show today’s date
Snap writes the export day onto the file. The capture time is a line in memories_history.json, shaped like 2017-04-03 22:11:04 UTC, and often a date prefix on the filename. Google Photos and Apple Photos do not read that JSON. They read DateTimeOriginal on a JPEG and the creation time inside an MP4. Until those fields are written, the library piles every year onto the day you downloaded the ZIP. The wrong date page is that bug on its own.
Why the map is empty
Location is text on the JSON row, not GPS inside the photo. A typical line looks like “Latitude, Longitude: 40.7128, -74.0060”. Photo apps never open the JSON, so the map stays empty until those numbers are copied into the file. Details are on the GPS page. If a row says N/A, there is no coordinate to copy.
Why stickers are a separate file
A 2026 export keeps the camera frame in a file ending in -main and the caption or sticker in a transparent -overlay.png next to it. Importing the PNG alone is a black square. Importing only -main drops the caption. The overlay page is that pair. The free restore bakes the overlay onto the first 15 photos. The rest of the pairs, and videos, are the Pro ZIP.
Snapchat memories archived
“Snapchat memories archived” is the thumbnail state above. It is not a deleted library, and it is not the downloadable export. The file you can keep is My Data, on How to download Snapchat Memories. “Snapchat archive,” as a search for that ZIP, is the same download.
Common questions
Does archived mean deleted?
No. Snap’s Help Center says Snapchat will not automatically delete Memories because you do not upgrade. Archived Memories remain stored and show as thumbnails. Opening, editing, or sharing them needs a storage plan, or a download you already saved outside the app.
What still opens without a storage plan?
Memories saved within the last year, and your oldest 5GB. Everything else that is more than a year old is the part that becomes a thumbnail in January 2027.
Is anything archived before January 2027?
No. The Help Center says no Memories will be archived before January 2027, and that Snap will give notice in the app before a change applies to you.