Snapchat users now have to pay to keep their Memories
But only if they cross the free 5GB limit
For years, free storage has felt like a given across many platforms, a kind of digital bottomless pit where you could keep piling up photos, videos, and files without worrying about running out of space. Lately, however, that “infinite storage” dream has started to crack. Yahoo recently shifted to paid plans for its users, and now Snap is following the same playbook with a major change to how Snapchat Memories works.
Louis Eriakha
Since its launch in 2016, Memories has grown into a massive personal archive. Snap says users have saved more than a trillion Snaps over the years, which makes sense given how long people have been treating the feature like their own private gallery.
However, that scale comes with a cost, and Snap has decided to impose a limit on what was previously unlimited. Going forward, every user will only get 5GB of free storage for Memories. Once you hit that cap, you’ll need to subscribe to a new storage plan to keep saving more.
To get 100GB of storage, users will have to cough up $1.99 a month, but if you’re already on Snapchat+ (which costs $3.99 a month), your limit automatically bumps up to 250GB. And for the heaviest users, a new Platinum tier gives you 5TB for $15.99 a month. The chances of you somehow maxing this tier out are quite low, but your snapscore is already over a million, so it won't be too surprising if you do.
Snap insists the “vast majority” of users won’t even notice this change, since most people are nowhere near the 5GB ceiling. But for those who are, the company is softening the blow by giving anyone already over the cap a one-year grace period with temporary storage. After that, it’s either delete old Snaps or start paying to keep them.
As mentioned before, this move isn’t happening in isolation. Cloud storage has become one of the most reliable ways for tech companies to diversify beyond ads. Apple and Google already make steady revenue from selling extra space in iCloud and Google One, so this is a great way to make some extra bucks on the side.
For casual users, nothing really changes. But for power users who treat Snapchat as a digital time capsule, the decision is here: trim down your collection, or pay up to keep every last memory intact.
Emmanuel Umahi
