Checking the export
Why are some memories missing from my Snapchat export?
Updated
Usually one of a handful of things, and most of them are fixable. A small gap is normal: in one real export, Snapchat's list had 3,792 memories and the archive held files for 3,639 of them, so about 4% were listed but never shipped. A big gap almost always means a setting on the request, a ZIP part that didn't download, or snaps sitting in My Eyes Only.
Work through these in order
- The date range. Snapchat's My Data page lets you pick a date range, and anything outside it isn't included. To get everything, switch the date range off when you make the request.
- A ZIP part that didn't download. Large exports arrive as several ZIPs, and each part holds different memories. One missing part is a whole chunk of your library. How split exports work.
- My Eyes Only. Snapchat's export instructions don't mention the vault, so don't count on those snaps being included. Move them back into Memories and export again. More on My Eyes Only.
- Export your Memories wasn't ticked. Without it the archive holds your account history and no pictures at all.
- Snaps that were never Memories. A Memories export covers Memories. A snap you only sent, or only kept in a chat, was never one of them.
The few percent that are simply gone
Even with every setting right, the list and the files may not match exactly. Those are memories Snapchat lists but didn't include a file for, and no tool can recover a file that isn't in the archive. Worth knowing before you spend an evening hunting for them.
If they're missing from the app too
That's a different problem, and an export can't bring back what Snapchat no longer has. Snapchat's advice is to update the app, clear the cache in Settings (which it says doesn't delete Memories) and turn the phone off and on again. If they're still missing after that, Snapchat says they're lost, and Support can't recover deleted Memories either.
Once the export is complete
The archive arrives with the dates, locations and captions stripped out. This site puts them back in your browser, with nothing uploaded. The first 500 files are free, so you can check the result before paying.