Guide
Snapchat data download not arriving, or the link expired? What to try
If your Snapchat data download hasn't arrived, first check whether it's been seven days: Snapchat says it aims to deliver within seven days and that large requests can take longer. If it has, skip the email entirely. Sign in to My Data (accounts.snapchat.com, or Settings, then My Data in the app), select See exports, and download it from there. Snapchat's help page names that as the other way to get your export, and it also works if you typed the wrong email address. If the link has stopped working, request the export again.
Check 1: has it really been long enough?
Snapchat's help page says longer date ranges and larger downloads take more time. A full "all time" export with Memories and chat media is the slowest kind. If you requested a few days ago, waiting is usually the answer. How long it takes has more detail.
Check 2: look on the My Data page, not just your inbox
Steps checked October 2026:
- Sign in at accounts.snapchat.com, or open Settings, then My Data in the app.
- Select See exports.
- If your export is listed and ready, choose Download.
Snapchat's page also notes that if you entered the wrong email address, you can still find the request under My Data after signing in.
Check 3: search your email properly
- Search for "Snapchat" across all folders, including spam, junk and promotions tabs.
- Check the address on your Snapchat account. The email goes to the address you confirmed when you made the request.
Check 4: the link opened but the download failed
Large exports are big files, and a phone download can stop part way through.
- Download on Wi-Fi, with the phone plugged in, and keep Safari in the foreground until it finishes.
- Make sure there is enough free space for the whole file. A full export can be many gigabytes; see how big it will be.
- If the export is split into several ZIP files, each part is its own download. Check that every one finished. Multi-part exports explains the naming.
- Snapchat's help page suggests trying a different browser if you have problems.
Check 5: the link has expired
Snapchat's page doesn't say how long a download link lasts. Third-party guides such as Redact's report that it stops working after about a week. If the link no longer works and the export isn't offered under See exports, the fix is to submit a new request.
Before you do:
- Requests can't be canceled, so make sure you choose everything you want this time. See which toggles to choose.
- Plan to download it as soon as the email arrives.
The links inside memories_history.json are a separate thing
People often confuse two kinds of link. The email link downloads your export ZIP. Inside the export, memories_history.json also lists a download link for each Memory, and those reportedly stop working after about a week too. If you requested your Memories, the photos and videos themselves should already be in the memories/ folder of the ZIP, and an expired per-Memory link doesn't matter for them. memories_history.json explained covers this.
Lidly reads only the files that are inside your ZIP. It never follows those links, because it makes no network requests at all.
A quick decision guide
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Fewer than seven days since you asked, no email | Wait, and check See exports on My Data |
| Export listed under See exports | Download it from there |
| No email, wrong address on the request | Sign in and use See exports |
| Download starts then fails | Wi-Fi, free space, try again or another browser |
| Link no longer works and nothing under See exports | Make a new request |
| Only some ZIP parts downloaded | Download the missing parts from the same export |
If you didn't request an export
Snapchat's help page says that if you get an export email you didn't request, you should change your password, turn on Login Verification and keep your Recovery Code somewhere safe.
Once you have it
Open it on your iPhone without unzipping: Lidly takes one file or all the parts at once and shows your saved snaps as conversations, by person, with captions back on. Start with opening an export on iPhone.