Guide
How to save Snapchat Memories to your camera roll with the right date and location
Snapchat Memories from a data export often show up in Photos dated the day you saved them, with no location, because the photo and video files don't carry that information in a form Photos reads. The original date and place are recorded separately, in json/memories_history.json. To get them back, each file has to be matched to its entry in that file and saved with the date and coordinates attached. Lidly does this when you save from your export to the camera roll: every saved item gets its original date, and Memories get their location wherever Snapchat recorded one.
Where the real date and location live
Inside your export, json/memories_history.json has one entry per Memory, like this (synthetic):
The matching photo sits in memories/ as something like 2022-06-25_<uuid>-main.jpg. The file name gives you the day, but not the time and not the place, and nothing in the entry names the file. memories_history.json explained goes field by field.
For snaps saved in chats, the date comes from the message in chat_history.json. Snapchat doesn't record a location for chat snaps, only for Memories.
How Lidly matches files to their dates
Lidly groups both sides by day. On a day where the number of entries in memories_history.json equals the number of Memory files, it lines them up in time order, one to one, and each file takes its entry's exact time and location.
On a day where the counts don't match, there is no safe way to know which entry belongs to which file. Lidly then leaves the location off for that day's files rather than guessing, and dates them from the file itself. You still get the right day; you don't get a pin in the wrong place.
The date it uses, in order of preference:
- The Memory's own date from
memories_history.json. - For chat snaps, the time of the message.
- Otherwise, the timestamp stored with the file in the ZIP.
Saving to your camera roll
Steps checked October 2026:
- Open your export in Lidly. (New to this? Start with opening an export on iPhone.)
- To save a single photo or video, open it full screen and tap Save.
- To save many, select them in a grid and save the selection. Before anything is written, Lidly shows how many have a capture date and how many have a location, so you know what to expect.
- Allow Lidly to add to your photo library when asked. It only asks to add photos; it never reads your library.
What you get in Photos:
- Each item sits at its original date in your library, not at the top.
- Memories with a recorded location show up on the map.
- Photos with a caption or drawing are saved with it on the image. Videos are saved as the original file, without the caption burned in. Why export photos have no captions explains.
- Because they're filed under their original dates, look in Photos' Recently Saved to find everything you just added in one place.
Lidly doesn't create albums. Creating an album would need full access to your photo library, and Lidly deliberately asks only to add.
What saving costs
Your first ten saves are free, and anything in the most recent twelve months of your export is free to view. A one-time purchase unlocks the rest of the archive and unlimited saving, with no subscription.
Other ways to do it
- Snapchat's own app. You can export Memories straight from the Memories screen. TechCrunch's October 2025 guide describes doing this in batches of up to 100. That works while your account is active.
- Desktop fixers. Several tools say they write dates and GPS into the files themselves, producing a folder you can import into Apple Photos or Google Photos. If you're working on a computer, or you want Google Photos, those may suit you better. See the comparisons.
Common questions
Why do some saved items have no location?
Either Snapchat didn't record one, which is always the case for chat snaps, or that day's entries couldn't be matched to files one to one. Lidly leaves location off rather than guess.
Will the date be in my time zone?
The export records times in UTC. Lidly saves the exact moment, and Photos shows it in your own time zone.
Does Lidly change my export?
No. It reads your ZIP files and never changes what's inside them. Saved copies are new files in Photos.