If Snapchat is warning you about running out of storage, you have three options: pay for Snapchat+, delete your memories, or export them to your camera roll and free up space. This guide explains exactly how each option works so you can choose the best one for your situation.
Understanding Snapchat's Storage Limits
Snapchat Memories was introduced in 2016 as a way to save snaps beyond the usual 24-hour window. For years, storage was essentially unlimited for all users. That changed when Snap Inc. introduced tiered storage through Snapchat+, its premium subscription service.
Today, free Snapchat users have a limited amount of cloud storage for Memories. The exact cap depends on factors like your account age and region, but many users begin receiving storage warnings after saving a few hundred to a few thousand memories. Once you reach the limit, Snapchat prevents you from saving new snaps to Memories until you either clear space or upgrade to a paid plan.
How Snapchat+ Storage Tiers Work
Snapchat+ is Snap Inc.'s premium subscription, and expanded Memories storage is one of its key selling points. Here is how the pricing breaks down:
- Free tier: Limited cloud storage. Exact limits vary but are enough for casual use.
- Snapchat+ ($3.99/month): Base-tier premium storage. Provides additional cloud space beyond the free limit.
- Snapchat+ higher tiers (up to $15.99/month): Even more storage for power users with large media libraries.
At the highest tier, you would pay approximately $192 per year just to store your photos and videos on Snapchat's servers. That is a recurring expense for content you already own. For comparison, 200 GB of iCloud storage costs $2.99/month ($36/year), and 100 GB of Google One costs $1.99/month ($24/year) -- both of which back up your entire camera roll, not just Snapchat content.
How to Check Your Snapchat Storage Usage
Before taking action, check how much storage you are actually using. Snapchat does not make this easy to find, but here is how:
- Open Snapchat and tap your profile icon in the top-left corner
- Tap the gear icon to open Settings
- Scroll down to "Memories" or "Account Actions"
- Look for a storage usage indicator or storage warning message
If you do not see a specific storage breakdown, you can estimate your usage by looking at the number of memories you have saved. On average, each photo takes about 2-5 MB and each video takes 5-50 MB depending on length and quality. A user with 1,000 photos and 200 short videos might be using roughly 5-10 GB of cloud storage.
What Takes Up the Most Space
Not all memories are created equal when it comes to storage:
- Videos: By far the largest storage consumers. A single 60-second snap video can use 20-50 MB. A few hundred videos can easily consume several gigabytes.
- Stories: Saved stories that contain multiple clips can be surprisingly large, especially if they include video segments.
- High-resolution photos: Photos taken with newer phone cameras at full resolution are larger than older snaps taken at lower quality.
- Spotlight submissions: If you have saved Spotlight videos, these tend to be higher quality and use more storage.
Option 1: Delete Memories You Don't Need
The most straightforward way to free up storage is to delete memories you no longer want. Here is how:
- Open Snapchat and swipe up (or tap the Memories icon) to access Memories
- Tap and hold on a memory to select it
- Tap additional memories to select multiple items at once
- Tap the trash icon to delete the selected memories
- Confirm deletion
Warning: Deleted memories cannot be recovered through the Snapchat app. Before deleting anything, consider whether you might want these photos or videos in the future. A safer approach is to export first and delete second.
Option 2: Pay for Snapchat+ Storage
If you prefer to keep everything within Snapchat and are comfortable with a recurring payment, Snapchat+ provides expanded storage:
- Open Snapchat and go to your profile
- Look for the Snapchat+ banner or go to Settings > Snapchat+
- Choose a subscription tier
- Confirm payment through the App Store or Google Play
Keep in mind that this is a subscription. If you cancel Snapchat+ in the future, you will revert to the free storage limit and may face the same storage warnings again. Your memories are not deleted when you cancel, but you may not be able to add new ones until you are back under the free limit.
Option 3: Export Memories, Then Delete (Recommended)
The most cost-effective long-term solution is to export your Snapchat memories to your camera roll and then delete them from Snapchat to free up space. This gives you the best of both worlds: you keep all your photos and videos, and you reclaim your Snapchat storage without paying a monthly fee.
The Export-Then-Delete Workflow
Here is the complete process from start to finish:
Step 1: Request Your Data Export
- Open a browser and go to accounts.snapchat.com
- Log in with your Snapchat credentials
- Navigate to "My Data"
- Click "Submit Request" to request a full data export
- Wait for the email from Snapchat (usually arrives within 24-48 hours)
- Download the ZIP file from the link in the email
Important: The download link expires after 7 days, so process your export promptly.
Step 2: Save Memories to Your Camera Roll
You have two options for getting your memories out of the ZIP file and into your camera roll:
Manual method: Extract the ZIP file on a computer, transfer the photos and videos to your phone, and add them to your camera roll. This is free but time-consuming, and you will lose the original date metadata, meaning all imported photos will show as being taken "today."
Using Memories Import: Open the ZIP file directly in the Memories Import app on your phone. Tap Import and the app will save all your photos and videos to your camera roll with original dates and locations preserved. This means a photo from 2020 will appear in your 2020 photos, not mixed in with recent pictures. The app costs $4.99 as a one-time purchase -- less than two months of the cheapest Snapchat+ plan.
Step 3: Verify Your Backup
Before deleting anything from Snapchat, verify that your memories were saved correctly:
- Open your phone's Photos app and browse through your camera roll
- Check that photos appear with correct dates (not all showing as today's date)
- Open a few videos to make sure they play correctly
- Scroll through your entire library to confirm everything was imported
Step 4: Delete Memories from Snapchat
Once you have confirmed that all your memories are safely in your camera roll:
- Open Snapchat Memories
- Select all the memories you have successfully exported
- Delete them from Snapchat
- Your Snapchat storage will decrease accordingly
After deletion, you can continue using Snapchat Memories for new content without hitting the storage limit. Repeat this export-then-delete process every few months to keep your Snapchat storage under control.
Reducing Snapchat's Storage on Your Phone
If Snapchat is using too much storage on your phone (not cloud storage, but local device storage), there are separate steps to address that:
- Clear the cache: Go to Snapchat Settings > Account Actions > Clear Cache. This removes temporary files like thumbnails and pre-loaded content. It will not affect your actual memories.
- Disable "Save to Memories" by default: In Snapchat Settings > Memories, you can change where snaps are saved by default. If you do not need every snap saved to Memories, switch to "Camera Roll Only" to save space on both Snapchat's cloud and your device.
- Check lens cache: Snapchat stores recently used AR lenses on your device. If you use many lenses, this cache can grow large. Clearing the app cache removes these as well.
Long-Term Storage Strategy
To avoid running into storage issues repeatedly, consider adopting this approach:
- Monthly exports: At the start of each month, save new Snapchat memories to your camera roll. This keeps your library manageable.
- Camera roll as primary backup: Think of your camera roll (backed up to iCloud or Google Photos) as your permanent archive. Use Snapchat Memories as a temporary holding area.
- Quarterly cleanup: Every three months, export and then delete older memories from Snapchat. This keeps you well under the free storage limit.
This strategy means you never need to pay for Snapchat+ storage, and your photos are always safely backed up in multiple locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much free storage does Snapchat give you for Memories?
Snapchat provides limited free cloud storage for Memories. The exact limit varies by account age and region, but most free users can store a few hundred to a few thousand memories before hitting the cap. Once you exceed the limit, Snapchat will prompt you to subscribe to Snapchat+ or delete older memories to free up space.
What happens when Snapchat storage is full?
When your Snapchat Memories storage is full, you will not be able to save new snaps to Memories. Snapchat will display a storage warning and suggest upgrading to Snapchat+. Existing memories are not immediately deleted, but you will need to either free up space by removing content, subscribe to Snapchat+, or export your memories to your camera roll.
How much does Snapchat+ storage cost?
Snapchat+ subscriptions start at $3.99 per month for the base tier and go up to $15.99 per month for expanded storage. At the highest tier, that amounts to approximately $192 per year -- a recurring cost just to access your own photos and videos. A one-time data export to your camera roll eliminates this ongoing expense.
Can I export my Snapchat memories and then delete them to free up storage?
Yes, this is the recommended approach. Request a data export at accounts.snapchat.com, save your memories to your camera roll using a tool like Memories Import, then delete the memories from Snapchat to reclaim storage. This way you keep all your photos and videos locally while freeing up cloud space on Snapchat.
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