How to download your Snapchat Memories with the right dates

Before you start

• Your Snapchat login, plus access to the email address on your account.
• Free space: an export is roughly the size of your Memories — often several gigabytes.
• A good Wi-Fi connection to download the ZIP files.
• A Mac or a Windows PC if you want to use Memohop.
• Anything in My Eyes Only? Move it back to Memories first — it isn’t included in the export.

Option 1: Request your data in the Snapchat app

Works on iPhone and Android. Labels can change slightly between app versions, but the path stays the same.

1. 1

   1. Open your profile

   Tap your profile icon (your Bitmoji or avatar) in the top-left corner of the camera screen.

2. 2

   2. Open Settings

   Tap the gear icon in the top-right corner.

3. 3

   3. Go to My Data

   Scroll down to Privacy Controls and tap My Data. Snapchat may ask you to log in again.

4. 4

   4. Include your Memories

   Turn on the option to export your Memories (it may read “Include your Memories, Chat Media and Shared Stories”). This is the important part: without it you only get a list of links. Also turn on Export JSON Files — they contain the dates and locations.

5. 5

   5. Pick the date range

   Choose All time so nothing is left behind, or a custom range if you only need a specific period.

6. 6

   6. Confirm your email and submit

   Check that the email address is right, then tap Submit. Snapchat will email you when your data is ready.

Option 2: Request your data at accounts.snapchat.com

Handy if you want the files to land straight on your computer.

1. 1

   1. Log in

   Go to accounts.snapchat.com and log in with your Snapchat username and password.

2. 2

   2. Open My Data

   Click My Data.

3. 3

   3. Choose what to export

   Turn on Export your Memories (and chat media, if you want it), plus Export JSON Files.

4. 4

   4. Select All time and submit

   Pick All time, confirm your email address and click Submit Request.

Download your ZIP files

Snapchat usually prepares your export within a few hours, but big accounts can take a day or more. You’ll get an email when it’s ready.

Open the link in the email — or go back to My Data on accounts.snapchat.com — and download your export. Large accounts are split into several ZIP files (for example mydata~1234567890.zip, mydata~1234567890-2.zip and so on). Download all of them: each one holds different memories.

The download is only available for a limited time, so grab it soon. There’s no need to unzip or rename anything — Memohop reads the ZIP files as they are.

The 2026 export format, explained

Since early 2026, Snapchat puts your photos and videos inside the export itself instead of sending a list of download links. Here’s what to expect:

• Several ZIP parts. Big exports are split into parts of roughly 2 GB: mydata~….zip, then -1, -2 and so on. The first part holds the json and html folders; the others hold only media.
• Media in a memories folder. Each memory is a file such as 2019-06-01_<id>-main.jpg or …-main.mp4, plus an optional …-overlay.png with its caption, stickers or drawing.
• The index is memories_history.json. It lists every memory with its date, time (in UTC) and location. That’s where the real dates live, so keep Export JSON Files turned on.
• Don’t mix exports. A new request can spread your memories across the parts differently. Keep all the parts of one export together, and don’t combine them with parts from another request.
• Check the sizes. A “ZIP” of only a few hundred bytes is an error page saved under the ZIP’s name, not your memories. Download that part again while the link still works.

The download window is short (recently about 3–4 days), so download every part as soon as Snapchat’s email arrives. Once they’re on your computer, the ZIPs don’t expire.

What’s inside the export (and why it looks broken)

Open the ZIP files yourself and you’ll quickly see why so many people give up:

• Wrong dates. Files are dated the day you downloaded them, so your photo library piles years of snaps onto a single day.
• Random file names. Instead of “Beach trip”, you get long strings of letters and numbers.
• Captions in pieces. Text, stickers and drawings are saved as a separate overlay image next to each photo or video.
• Split videos. Longer videos arrive as several 10-second clips.
• Links instead of media. If Memories weren’t included, you only get a list of download links — and they expire.

The good news: everything needed to put things right — the real date, the location, the overlay — is in there.

Why the dates are wrong (and how to fix them)

The most common complaint about Snapchat’s export: import it into Apple Photos or Google Photos, and years of memories pile up on a single day.

Where the real date lives

Most exported photos and videos carry no capture date in their own metadata, so your photo app falls back to the file’s date: the day you downloaded it. (Some newer memories do carry a date; older ones don’t.)

The real date, time and GPS location sit in memories_history.json, which is only included if you turned on Export JSON Files. Newer file names start with the day the memory was taken, but the time and place are only in the JSON.

The times in the JSON are in UTC, not your local time. Written as they are, a photo taken at 9 pm in New York would show up at 1 am the next day. A proper fix converts every memory to the local time of the place where it was taken.

How to fix the dates

• With Memohop (Mac and Windows): drop in all your ZIPs and it writes the original date, time and GPS into every photo (EXIF) and video (QuickTime metadata), in local time, and handles captions and split videos too. You can preview everything and fix up to 100 memories for free.
• With free scripts: if you’re comfortable with the command line, open-source scripts and ExifTool can read the JSON and write the dates. Check that the script supports the 2026 format, converts time zones, and keeps overlays and split videos: many don’t.
• By hand: Apple Photos and Google Photos let you change dates, but only one memory (or one batch shifted by the same amount) at a time. Fine for ten photos, not for ten thousand.

Check the result

• Open a few photos in the Info panel in Apple Photos (or the details in Google Photos): the date and time should match the day you took them.
• Look at the map (Places in Apple Photos): memories with a location should appear where you took them.
• Check a video too. Videos store their date and location differently from photos, and some tools only fix the photos.

Put everything back in place with Memohop

1. 1Download Memohop for Mac or Windows and open it.
2. 2Drag all your ZIP files into the window. No need to unzip them.
3. 3Browse your timeline, month by month. Filter by videos, location, captions or what hasn’t been migrated yet.
4. 4Select what to send and pick a destination: Apple Photos / iCloud Photos, Google Photos, a folder, a ZIP or Google Drive.
5. 5Publish. Your memories land in a “Snapchat Memories” album, on the right day and place — captions included.

Troubleshooting