Guide
How long a Snapchat data download takes, and how big it will be
Snapchat says it aims to deliver your data within seven days, and that large requests can take longer. In our experience a small request often arrives within a day or two, while a full export with years of Memories and chat media takes longer and is larger. How big it gets depends almost entirely on how many photos and videos you've saved: a text-only request can be tiny, while years of saved snaps can run to many gigabytes split across several ZIP files.
What Snapchat says about timing
From Snapchat's help page, checked October 2026:
- Snapchat aims to deliver within seven days, and large requests can take longer.
- Longer date ranges and larger downloads take more time.
- You get an email with a link when it's ready, and you can also find it under My Data, then See exports.
- A request can't be canceled once submitted.
Nothing on that page promises a faster time, so treat any shorter figure, including ours above, as typical rather than guaranteed.
What makes it slower
- Memories. Photos and videos are most of the size. Including Memories makes the export much bigger.
- Chat media. Years of snaps saved in chats add up quickly.
- The date range. "All time" is the slowest. A narrower range is faster but leaves things out.
- Many requests. Since a request can't be canceled, submitting again doesn't speed things up and can leave you with several exports to sort out.
How big will my export be?
There is no fixed size. A rough guide:
| What you requested | Typical shape |
|---|---|
| Account data only, no media | Small, one ZIP |
| Memories only | Roughly the size of your Memories, one or several ZIPs |
| Everything, including chat media | Largest; often several numbered ZIP parts |
Snapchat shows your Memories storage use in the app's settings, which gives a sense of the Memories part. The largest export we test Lidly against is 15 GB in eight parts. When an export is split, you need every part; see multi-part exports.
Plan for the space
On a phone, space is the real constraint:
- Downloading the ZIPs needs room for all of them.
- Unzipping in the Files app needs about the same again.
- Reading in place with an app like Lidly skips step 2. Lidly keeps a small index and reads straight from the ZIPs, so you only need room for the download itself.
If your phone is tight on space, download the parts, import them, and leave them where they are. More in opening an export on iPhone.
How long does importing take?
That depends on the size of the export and the phone. A large multi-part export takes a while to index; Lidly shows progress part by part and keeps working if you leave the import screen. Once it's done, opening a snap reads just that file from inside the ZIP, rather than unpacking the archive again.
What to do while you wait
- Look around with the demo. Lidly opens with a small sample export on first launch, so you can see how conversations and Memories look before yours arrives.
- Set a reminder. In Lidly's export screen you can ask for a local notification when your export is likely ready. It's scheduled on your phone; nothing is sent anywhere.
- Check what you selected. If you forgot Memories or chat media, it's better to know now. Which toggles to choose covers that.
Does the date range change the size?
Yes, and by a lot. Photos and videos make up nearly all of an export, so a date range that leaves out the years when you saved the most will shrink it far more than leaving out data categories like search history. That's also the trade-off: anything outside the range is simply not in the file. For a keepsake export, choose all time and accept the wait.
Can I speed it up?
Not really. There's no option on Snapchat's page to prioritise a request, and since requests can't be canceled, a second request doesn't replace the first. What you can do is make sure the first request is right:
- Choose the categories you actually need. Which toggles to choose explains each one.
- Use the email address you check, and confirm it.
- Watch the My Data page as well as your inbox. Snapchat lists recent exports under See exports.
When it arrives
Download it promptly. Third-party guides report that the download link stops working after about a week; Snapchat's page doesn't say how long it lasts, so don't count on more. If the email never comes, see download not arriving or link expired.
Then: view your chats by person, or save your Memories with their dates.