The 5GB cap and your grace period
In late 2025 Snapchat capped free Memories storage at 5GB and started a 12 month grace period. That clock runs from when the cap reached your account, so it does not end on the same day for everyone. When yours runs out, anything over the free limit can be permanently deleted. Here is exactly what is happening, and how to keep everything.
The 5GB cap is live now, and grace periods are already ending.
How we got here
Memories used to be unlimited and free. Snapchat announced a new 5GB free limit, with paid plans for anything beyond it, and started a 12-month grace period so nothing was deleted right away.
Your Memories are still safe today, but the clock is running. This is the calm, unhurried window to export everything properly, before the last-minute rush when Snapchat's export queue gets slow.
Per Snapchat's own support guidance: your oldest Memories that fit inside the 5GB limit stay, but your most recent Memories above that limit are removed unless you have upgraded to a paid plan or saved them somewhere else. Deleted Memories are not recoverable.
If you do nothing
It is counterintuitive: Snapchat keeps your oldest Memories that fit under 5GB and deletes from the top, your most recent snaps. So the trips, birthdays and everyday moments from the last couple of years are exactly what is most at risk.
And even if you do nothing else and just hit Snapchat's own download button, you get a folder where every photo is stamped today, with no dates and no locations. That is the second problem SnapRescue solves.
How SnapRescue fixes that →Rent vs own
| Option | What you pay | Over 3 years | Who holds your photos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snapchat+ 100GB | $1.99 / month | $71.64 | Snapchat's cloud |
| Snapchat+ 250GB | $3.99 / month | $143.64 | Snapchat's cloud |
| Snapchat+ 5TB | $15.99 / month | $575.64 | Snapchat's cloud |
| SnapRescue | $9.99 once | $9.99 | You do, on your own computer |
Snapchat plan prices as publicly listed, June 2026, and may vary by region. The monthly plans keep your Memories in Snapchat's cloud and keep charging you. SnapRescue saves them to your own computer, once.
Restore the real dates and locations, organize everything into tidy folders, and own it forever. Free for your first 100 files.
Download SnapRescue freeThen unlock unlimited for a one-time $9.99 USD. 30-day money-back guarantee.