How do I download my Snapchat Memories?

Downloading your Memories happens in two parts: first you ask Snapchat for a data export, then you make it usable. The first part you handle yourself in the app, and it costs nothing.

You find the function in Snapchat's settings, under the privacy and data settings, where you can request a copy of your data. Snapchat moves its menus and renames its headings now and then, so look for wording along the lines of "My Data" rather than an exact path.

Tick both Export your Memories and Export JSON Files. The second one looks optional and is not. Without it, the whole archive comes out with no times and no locations.

If you have anything in My Eyes Only, you need to move it back into your ordinary Memories before you send the request. Whatever stays in that password-protected space does not normally come along in the export, and then it is not in the files we receive.

Snapchat then prepares the export and emails you a download link. How long that takes is up to them, not us. Often it is a few hours to a few days, but large archives can take longer. The link expires, so download the files fairly promptly when the email arrives. If your link has expired you simply ask for a new export.

You get one or more ZIP files. Large archives are split into several parts that belong together, often around 2 GB each, and all of them are needed. You do not have to unpack them.

And here comes the surprise that sends people looking for help: the export is, in practice, hard to use. The files have random names, they carry no date or location inside the file itself, and whatever you drew or wrote on a snap sits as a separate picture file next to the video. Your photo app therefore thinks everything was created on the day you downloaded the export, and your whole library ends up out of order. That is exactly the problem we exist to solve.