Starting January 1, Snapchat will lock older Memories behind a paywall: how to save yours now

The clock is running. According to Snapchat's own help page, starting in January 2027, Memories that are more than one year old and not part of your oldest 5GB will be archived. Archived Memories show up in Snapchat only as thumbnails. To open, edit or share them again, you need a paid Memories storage plan, billed monthly or yearly, or a copy you downloaded yourself. Snap says archived Memories are not deleted. But if you want to actually look at them without paying a fee every month or year, the time to download is now, not in January.

What happens on January 1

Here is what Snap's help page says, in plain terms:

Every account gets 5GB of free Memories storage.
Starting in January 2027, Memories more than one year old that are outside your oldest 5GB will be archived.
Archived Memories appear as thumbnails in the app. To open, edit or share them, you have to upgrade to a storage plan.
The other way to keep access is to download your Memories and keep them outside the app.
Snapchat says it will not delete your Memories because you don't upgrade.

Snap's page says archiving starts "in January 2027" and that nothing is archived before then. It also says you will get notice in the app before anything changes for you. We count down to January 1 because it is the first day archiving can begin, and because an export takes days to arrive. If you wait for the in-app notice, you're starting late.

Is this you?

It depends on how much you've saved and when. Snap's page describes the scope like this:

Affected: Memories older than one year that fall outside your oldest 5GB.
Still open: anything you saved in the last year, and your oldest 5GB.
No change: if all your Memories together are under 5GB, Snap's page describes nothing changing for you. Your storage use is shown in Snapchat's settings.

So the people hit hardest are the ones with the most history: years of Memories, lots of video, a few thousand saved moments sitting in the middle of the timeline. Those middle years are exactly what gets locked: newer than your oldest 5GB, older than last year.

What about snaps saved in chats? Snap's help page is about Memories. It doesn't say anything about media saved in chats, so don't assume either way. The good news is that your data export can include both, so one download covers your Memories and your saved chats.

Locked is not deleted, but it isn't yours to open either

Some sites have called this a deletion deadline. That's not what Snap's documentation says: archived Memories stay on Snapchat. But a thumbnail is not a memory you can watch, share or save. After archiving, getting the full photo or video back inside Snapchat means paying for storage, every month or every year, for as long as you want access.

Snap's page doesn't say what happens to archived Memories in the long term. A copy on your own phone doesn't depend on that answer.

Why waiting until December is a bad idea

The export isn't instant. Snapchat's download help page says it aims to deliver within seven days, and that large requests and long date ranges take longer. A request can't be canceled once you submit it. See how long it takes.
Big exports come in parts. Years of Memories often arrive as several numbered ZIP files, and you need every one. See multi-part exports.
Download links don't wait for you. Third-party guides report that the download link stops working after about a week, so plan to download as soon as the email arrives.
You'll want to check it. A ZIP that downloaded isn't the same as a backup that works. Give yourself time to open it, look through it, and request again if something is missing.

How to save your Memories now

These are the steps from Snapchat's download page, checked October 2026:

Sign in at accounts.snapchat.com, or in the Snapchat app open Settings, then My Data.
Turn on Memories. If you also want your saved chats, turn on your saved chat history and the chat media, and include the JSON files if they're offered. Which toggles to choose goes through each option.
Turn the date range off, or choose all time, so nothing is cut off.
Confirm your email address and submit the request.
Wait for Snapchat's email. You can also find the finished export in My Data, under See exports.
Download every ZIP part.

Then make it usable:

Open it in Lidly on your iPhone. Pick all the parts at once. Lidly reads them where they are, so you don't unzip or merge anything. If a part is missing, it tells you which one.
Check it. Scroll your Memories timeline and a few conversations. Make sure the years you care about are there.
Save your favourites to your camera roll, with the original date and, where Snapchat recorded one, the location. Restoring date and location explains how.
Keep the ZIPs somewhere safe besides your phone: a computer, a drive, or a cloud service you trust.

If you're thinking of leaving Snapchat altogether, read how to save your data before deleting your account first. The same export does both jobs.

Keep them on your iPhone, without a monthly fee

A raw export is thousands of files with names like 2022-06-25_<uuid>-main.jpg, with captions in separate overlay files and the dates in a separate JSON file. Everything is there, but it's hard to look through.

Lidly turns it back into something you can browse:

Your Memories by date, newest first, with captions back on the photo.
Your saved chat snaps threaded by conversation, each with who sent it and when.
Throwbacks that bring back this week in past years.

It's free to import and read your whole export. Your most recent twelve months of media and your first ten saves to the camera roll are free. Older media needs a one-time unlock; there's no subscription. Lidly has no account, makes no network requests, and never asks for your Snapchat login, so your Memories stay on your phone.

What Lidly can't do: stop archiving, change what Snap stores, or reach into your Snapchat account. It works only with the export you download, which is why the download is the step that matters.

Common questions

Will Snapchat delete my Memories on January 1?

No. Snap's help page says it won't automatically delete Memories because you don't upgrade. Memories in scope are archived: visible as thumbnails, but you need a paid plan or your own download to open them.

I have less than 5GB of Memories. Do I need to do anything?

Under the policy as Snap describes it, nothing changes for you. A downloaded copy is still the only one you control, and your Memories will keep growing.

Can I just pay instead?

Yes. Snap offers Memories storage plans, and its announcement describes the tiers. Check Snap's own pages for current prices. Paying keeps access inside Snapchat for as long as you keep paying; a download keeps a copy with you.

Where can I read the full background?

The Snapchat Memories storage limit, explained sets out everything Snap has published about the change, with dates.