A real backup of your Snapchat Memories means three things: you actually have the files, those files are usable in a normal photo app with the right dates and locations, and there is more than one copy of them. Snapchat’s export gives you the first part. Getting the other two right is what this guide covers.
A Snapchat export sitting untouched in your Downloads folder is not a backup, even once it finishes downloading. It needs to go through a few stages before it is something you can rely on:
Each stage below covers one of these.
Go to accounts.snapchat.com, sign in, and open My Data. Check both “Export your Memories” and “Export JSON Files.” The JSON option is easy to miss, and without it you get media with no location data attached to it at all. Submit the request. According to Snapchat’s own support documentation, processing time depends on your account and library size, so treat any specific timeframe you see elsewhere as a rough guide rather than a guarantee.
If your library is large, Snapchat splits the export across more than one ZIP file. Download every one it lists, not just the first. If the export page shows “Empty export” with no download at all, that almost always means “Export your Memories” was not checked when the request was submitted; see this guide to empty Snapchat exports for the full fix.
The raw export on its own has gaps. Current exports already carry correct capture dates on most media files, but location data is a separate problem: it exists only in memories_history.json, not written into the photo or video itself, so map view and location search stay empty until it is added back in. Anything with text, a sticker, or a filter downloads as two files, the base photo and a separate overlay file that never gets shown to you unless the two are merged. Some older long videos also arrive split into several shorter clips instead of one file.
All of this is fixable, but not by hand. FixMyExport processes your export locally: extract every ZIP fully, keep the json folder and every memories folder as direct siblings inside one primary folder, then point the app at that primary folder. It reads memories_history.json, writes available GPS coordinates into supported files using your chosen timezone, merges overlay files with their base photos, and can optionally join matching split video clips. Nothing is uploaded anywhere during this step; it all happens on your device.
Once this finishes, you have a folder of photos and videos that import correctly into Apple Photos, Google Photos, or any other gallery app, sorted by actual capture date, with map view working wherever location data was available.
Once processing is done, the output folder on your computer is your first real copy. This is the version you will actually browse day to day, whether that is directly on your machine or imported into your phone or tablet’s photo library.
One copy on one drive is not a backup, it is just a file location. Add at least one more copy somewhere physically separate from your main computer.
An external drive works well for this: copy the processed folder to it and, if possible, store that drive somewhere other than right next to your computer, so a single theft, fire, or spill cannot take out both copies at once. A cloud copy works too, and does not require choosing between the two; you can have both. FixMyExport’s optional Cloud Upload add-on can send the processed files straight to your own Google Drive or Dropbox account as part of the same run, without routing through any third-party server. See current pricing if you want that option; a manual copy to any cloud storage you already use works just as well and costs nothing extra.
3-2-1 is a general backup principle, not specific to Snapchat: keep three copies of anything you cannot afford to lose, on two different types of storage, with at least one copy stored somewhere other than your main location. Applied here, that usually looks like this:
You do not need specialized software to follow this. A plain external drive and any cloud storage account you already have is enough. What matters is that the three copies do not all depend on the same device or the same account.
Before you clear space on your device, delete the original export ZIPs, or remove anything from Snapchat itself, confirm the backup actually worked. Open the processed folder in your gallery app and spot check a handful of photos and videos from different years. Check that the dates look right and that older memories with location data show up on the map. If you added overlays or had long videos, confirm a few of those merged correctly too.
It is worth keeping the raw, unprocessed export ZIPs around as an extra archival copy even after processing, at least until you are confident the processed set is complete. They take up more space, but they are your only copy of the export exactly as Snapchat generated it, in case you ever need to reprocess it with different settings.
Backing up is not a one-time task. New Memories keep accumulating, so it is worth requesting a fresh export and repeating this process every few months rather than treating it as something you do once and never again.
Separately, Snapchat also offers additional in-app Memories storage through its paid Snapchat+ subscription. That can be worth considering alongside a backup routine, but it is not a substitute for one; a subscription keeps more of your library inside Snapchat, while a backup keeps a copy of it outside Snapchat entirely, which is the part that actually protects you if something happens to the account itself.
It is not strictly required, but it is a good idea until you have verified the processed copy is complete. The raw export is the only copy of your data exactly as Snapchat generated it, and reprocessing later is easier if you still have it.
Every few months is a reasonable habit for most people, more often if you use Memories heavily. There is no fixed schedule required; the goal is simply not letting months or years of unbacked-up content pile up.
Not from the raw export alone. Location data exists in memories_history.json but is not written into the photo or video files until a local tool processes the export and embeds it, where the format supports it.
Snapchat splits large libraries across multiple ZIP files. Extract all of them and combine the memories folders as siblings inside one primary folder before processing, so nothing is left out.
No. An external drive plus your main computer already gives you two separate copies. Cloud storage is a convenient way to add an offsite copy without buying hardware, but a second physical drive works too.
Open the processed folder in a gallery app and check a sample of files from different years for correct dates and, where applicable, locations on the map. Confirm overlays and any split videos merged correctly before removing the raw files or clearing device storage.
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