Snapchat will soon start charging users for storing old photos and videos in its memories feature. Until now, the app has allowed people to save snaps for free since the feature was introduced in 2016.
The company says users who have more than 5gb of saved memories will need to pay to keep them. Those with less than 5gb will not be affected.
How much will snapchat storage cost?
The company says storage plans will roll out worldwide, but it hasn’t revealed exact UK prices yet. In the US, the starting plan is $1.99 a month for 100GB. Higher tiers, like 250GB, will be part of Snapchat+ at $3.99 a month.
People who go over the free 5gb limit will be given 12 months of temporary storage. After that, they must either pay for a plan or download their saved content to another device.
The company explained that charging for storage will help it improve the memories feature. It admitted that moving from free to paid service is difficult but said the change will benefit the community.
More than one trillion memories have been saved on snapchat since the feature began. Many users are unhappy with the new rule, saying it feels unfair and greedy. Some have years of saved posts and now face paying extra or losing them.
Experts believe this change is part of a bigger shift. They say that as people post less but save more, paying for storage on social media may become normal in the future.
Snapchat currently has about 900 million monthly active users, while platforms like instagram and tiktok have billions.
