Snapchat users with large collections of saved photos and videos will soon need to pay to keep their memories, as the social media platform announced it’s capping free storage at 5GB.
The company revealed that after accumulating over one trillion saved Memories since the feature launched in 2016, it will now charge users who exceed the free storage limit. Users above the cap will have a 12-month grace period to either download their content or subscribe to one of the new storage plans.
“It’s never easy to transition from receiving a service for free to paying for it, but we hope the value we provide with Memories is worth the cost,” Snapchat stated in its announcement. “For the vast majority of Snapchatters, who have less than 5GB of Memories, nothing will change.”
The new storage plans include 100GB for $1.99 per month, 250GB included with the existing Snapchat+ subscription at $3.99 per month, and a premium “Platinum” tier offering 5TB (5,000GB) of storage for $15.99 monthly.
Many long-time users have voiced frustration about the change. One user posted on X: “Charging a subscription fee for my memories is the absolute greediest move I’ve seen.” Another questioned: “Snapchat making us pay for our own pictures?”
The company has clarified that if users don’t upgrade after the 12-month temporary storage period ends, their oldest saved content will be preserved while newer items exceeding the 5GB limit may be deleted. This means users need to prioritize backing up their most recent Memories first.
Social media expert Drew Benvie, founder of consultancy Battenhall, sees the move as part of a broader industry shift. “The road to paying for storage on social media is inevitable,” Benvie told BBC News. “In an era where we post less, but save more, this is an evolution of messaging and social media platforms.”
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While charging for cloud storage is new for social platforms, it follows the model already established by companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft, who all offer limited free storage before charging for additional space.
Users concerned about the change have two main options to preserve their content without paying: downloading Memories in batches of up to 100 directly to their device’s camera roll, or requesting their entire archive by using Snapchat’s “Download My Data” feature, which provides a compressed file via email.
The pricing structure appears to be designed for a global rollout, though Snap has not confirmed exact rates for all regions yet. For markets outside the United States, prices may vary slightly depending on local currency and market conditions.
Snapchat remains one of the world’s most popular social platforms with 460 million daily active users and 900 million monthly active users. About 60 percent of its users are between 18 and 34 years old.
The company frames this change as necessary to “continue to invest in making Memories better for our entire community,” suggesting the revenue will support ongoing development of the feature. The decision also aligns with Snapchat’s broader push toward subscription offerings, including its Lens+ program for premium AR filters.
Users who have been actively saving content since Memories launched almost a decade ago are most likely to be affected by this change, potentially facing a choice between paying a subscription fee or losing years of personal digital history.
