Memories Dated

Snapchat Memories: what really changes in January 2027

Checked against Snapchat's official help page on 3 November 2026. If Snapchat changes its rules, this page will be updated with the date.

In one sentence

Snapchat is not deleting your Memories. From January 2027, Memories older than one year, beyond the oldest 5 GB kept free, will be archived: still visible as thumbnails, but a subscription will be needed to open them again.

What is true

What is false

What to do, and when

  1. Request the export now, without waiting for January. Profile, Settings, My Data. Tick “Export your Memories” and “Export JSON files”, date range “All time”. Snapchat prepares the archive and e-mails you, usually within 24 to 48 hours, sometimes up to 7 days.
  2. Download every ZIP as soon as the e-mail arrives: links expire after about 7 days. A large account yields several mydata~….zip files of about 2 GB each.
  3. Put the dates back. In the export, every photo carries the download date, not the capture date. Imported as is into Google Photos or Apple Photos, they all land on “today”. That is what our tool fixes, on your computer, uploading nothing.
  4. Keep the original export until you have checked your photos in your library.

Sources

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