Snapchat will begin charging users who store more than five gigabytes of photos and videos in its Memories feature, marking a major shift from the free service the platform has offered since 2016.
The company says the change is aimed at managing the growing amount of content stored on its servers, which has surpassed one trillion saved “Memories” over the past eight years.
The Memories feature is one of Snapchat’s most popular tools, enabling users to keep their past snaps within the app rather than losing them to its disappearing-message format.
Unlike standard camera rolls, where duplicates and screenshots often take up space, the company says Memories are unique because users deliberately choose which moments to preserve.
“For the vast majority of Snapchatters, who have less than 5GB of Memories, nothing will change,” the company said in a statement. It added that only those who go beyond the free storage limit will be required to subscribe to new plans.
New Storage Tiers Introduced
The platform is rolling out three paid storage options under Snapchat+ and Snapchat Platinum. Snapchat+ users will have access to 100GB and 250GB tiers, while Snapchat Platinum subscribers will get a premium 5TB plan.
Users who exceed the free 5GB limit will have a 12-month grace period during which their extra content will be stored temporarily before an upgrade becomes necessary.
TechCrunch reports that the new storage plans will start at $1.99 (Sh257) per month for 100GB. Subscribers to the Snapchat+ tier will pay $3.99 (Sh515) monthly for 250GB of storage, while Snapchat Platinum users will have 5TB of space for $15.99 (Sh2064) per month.
Snapchat has assured users that they will still be able to download their content to their devices if they do not wish to pay for more space.
“Snapchatters can upgrade to a Memories Storage Plan at any time, and as always, will be able to download their Memories directly to their devices,” the company said.
“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.”