Snapchat Is Deleting
Old Memories

Is Snapchat Deleting Memories? The Short Answer

Yes — Snapchat can now delete Memories, but only if you store more than 5GB of them. On September 26, 2025, Snap announced that free Memories storage is capped at 5GB per account. If you are over the limit, Snap gives you 12 months of temporary storage for the overflow. Once that grace period runs out, over-limit Memories can be permanently deleted unless you upgrade to a paid storage plan or trim your Memories back under 5GB.

Because the change is rolling out gradually and each user's 12-month clock starts individually, deletions could begin as early as September 2026 for the earliest-notified accounts. There is no official calendar deadline that applies to everyone — and anyone quoting one is guessing. This guide covers what actually changed, how to check whether you are affected, and what to do before your own clock runs out.

What Changed With Snapchat Memories Storage

Since Memories launched in 2016, Snapchat stored every snap and story you saved to Memories for free, with no cap. That ended with Snap's September 2025 announcement, which introduced storage plans and a free tier limited to 5GB. The key facts:

• 5GB of Memories storage stays free for every account. Snap says the vast majority of users are under this limit and will notice no change.
• Over-limit Memories get 12 months of temporary storage from the time the change reaches your account, giving you time to upgrade, export, or clean up.
• Paid plans start at 100GB (introductory US pricing of $1.99/month), with 250GB included in Snapchat+ and 5TB included in Snapchat+ Platinum.
• You can always download your Memories to your own device — Snap has kept both export routes open. Our Memories export guide walks through both.

Is There a Snapchat Memories Deadline?

Not a universal one. This is the most misunderstood part of the change, so it is worth being precise:

• The 5GB limit is rolling out per account, not switching on for everyone at once.
• Your 12-month grace period starts when the rollout reaches you — roughly, when storage notices start appearing in your app.
• For accounts notified when the change was announced in late September 2025, the grace period can end as early as September 2026. Users reached later have correspondingly later cutoffs.
• Snap has not published an exact deletion date, and it has not said in what order over-limit Memories would be removed.

The practical takeaway: don't try to calculate your exact cutoff. If you are over 5GB, assume your grace period is already running and act now — exporting costs nothing and removes all the urgency.

How to Check If You're Affected

1. Open Memories in the Snapchat app (swipe up from the camera screen or tap the icon next to the shutter button).
2. Look for a "Low Storage" banner. When the rollout reaches an account that is over or near the 5GB limit, Snapchat shows a Low Storage alert at the top of Memories.
3. Check your storage usage. Snapchat's Memories settings show how much storage your Memories are using, so you can see how close to the cap you are even before any banner appears.

No banner and under 5GB? You don't need to do anything — though keeping your own backup is still smart, since Memories is tied to your account and deleting your Snapchat account erases Memories with it.

What Happens If You Do Nothing

If you stay over the 5GB limit and the 12-month temporary storage period ends, Snap can permanently remove your over-limit Memories. Snap's own support page says you will need to either trim your Memories or upgrade your storage. Two details matter here:

• Snap has not said which Memories go first. Some coverage claims oldest-first, other coverage claims newest-first — Snap itself has not specified. Do not gamble your photos on an assumption.
• Deletion is permanent. There is no published recovery path for Memories removed after the grace period.

Your Three Options Before the Grace Period Ends

1. Export everything first (do this regardless)

Both official export routes are free: bulk-saving to your camera roll inside the app, or requesting a full export from Snapchat's Download My Data tool. Each has real quirks — hash filenames, stripped dates, overlays arriving as separate files — so read our guide to exporting all your Snapchat Memories before you start.

2. Trim below 5GB and stay free

Videos are almost always the storage hog. Deleting a handful of long videos often frees more space than removing hundreds of photos. Our storage cleanup guide covers how to find and remove the biggest offenders.

3. Pay for a storage plan

Prices vary by region and can change — check the Snapchat app for current pricing. One warning if you go this route: canceling a plan while you are over 5GB gives you only a 48-hour window to resubscribe before over-limit Memories are affected. Export before you downgrade, not after.

Memories Only Covers What You Saved

One thing this whole storage change highlights: Memories was never a complete record. It only holds the snaps you chose to save — the snaps friends send you disappear right after you view them, and they were never in Memories to begin with. If you want to keep those too, SnapNinja automatically saves incoming snaps and stories to your own library as they arrive, so your backup is not limited to your own camera.