Snapchat is rolling out a controversial new policy that’s leaving longtime users scrambling to save their digital archives—or pay up to keep them.
The messaging platform announced it will start charging users who have accumulated more than five gigabytes of content in its Memories feature, which has allowed free photo and video storage since launching in 2016. The move has sparked immediate backlash from users who’ve spent years building collections of precious moments they thought would remain accessible.
In a blog post, Snap explained that over one trillion Memories have been saved since the feature debuted nearly a decade ago. The company emphasized that these aren’t just random screenshots cluttering a camera roll—they’re moments users intentionally chose to preserve.
“When we first launched Memories, we never expected it to grow to what it has become today,” Snap stated, positioning the change as necessary to maintain the service long-term.
Under the new system, users exceeding the 5GB limit will need to upgrade to paid storage plans. The entry-level option offers 100GB for $1.99 monthly, according to pricing shared with TechCrunch. Those subscribing to Snapchat+ ($3.99/month) will get 250GB, while the premium Snapchat Platinum tier includes a massive 5TB of storage.
Snap insists the change won’t affect “the vast majority of Snapchatters” who stay under the 5GB threshold. The company is also providing a 12-month grace period for users to either upgrade or download their content to personal devices.
But many users aren’t buying it. Social media has erupted with complaints calling the policy “greedy” and “unfair,” particularly from those who’ve relied on the free service for years and now face substantial bills to maintain access to their digital memories.
“It’s never easy to transition from receiving a service for free to paying for it, but we hope the value we provide with Memories is worth the cost,” Snap acknowledged in its announcement.
Industry experts suggest this could be the beginning of a broader trend. Drew Benvie, CEO of social media consultancy Battenhall, told the BBC that storage fees across all platforms are likely inevitable as users shift from posting frequently to saving more content privately.
While Snapchat boasts over 900 million monthly active users, it still trails behind competitors like Instagram and TikTok, which count billions of users. Whether this monetization strategy will help close that gap or drive users away remains to be seen.
