Snapchat has become one of the most popular social media apps, especially among younger users. A big part of Snapchat’s appeal is that it promises ephemerality – the idea that nothing on Snapchat lasts forever. Snapchat markets itself as a fun, casual way to share moments that quickly disappear. This sets it apart from platforms like Facebook or Instagram where your posts remain visible unless you actively delete them. Snapchat’s flagship feature are the photo and video Snaps that users can send to friends. These Snaps have a time limit attached to them, after which the Snap disappears from the recipient’s phone. Users can set a timer of 1-10 seconds for their Snaps. This gives an intimate, fleeting experience.
However, the idea that Snaps completely vanish has been called into question. There are ways Snaps can potentially remain visible or be recovered, either officially through Snapchat’s features or unofficially through workarounds. So does Snapchat really delete your pictures? What happens to Snaps after they disappear? Let’s explore what’s going on behind the scenes.
Official Ways Snapchat Keeps Some Snaps
There are a few ways Snapchat preserves Snaps through intended features:
Memories
The Memories feature allows Snapchatters to save certain Snaps to their phone’s camera roll. You can choose to save a Snap you receive or one you’re sending. Saved Snaps go into Memories so you can access them later, even after they’ve disappeared from chat. You can also edit and re-share saved Snaps. So if you explicitly save a Snap, it sticks around.
Chat
In a chat, Snaps you receive live momentarily before expiring. However, the other person can take a screenshot of your Snap before it disappears without you being notified. So even though the Snap vanishes, their screenshot lets them keep the image in Chat indefinitely.
Stories
With Stories, you can string Snaps together into a narrative that sticks around for 24 hours. People can view your Story as many times as they want during that 24-hour window. And you can choose exactly who gets to see your Story. So Stories provide a way to share Snaps in a semi-permanent public feed or to a select audience.
Snapchat Spotlight
Spotlight is Snapchat’s public feed of the most entertaining Snaps. Users can submit their Snaps to be considered for Spotlight. If Snapchat features your Snap, it could be visible to Spotlight’s large audience for a while. Essentially, Snapchat holds onto Spotlight Snaps at their discretion.
Our Stories
Our Stories are curated feeds of Snaps from events and locations around the world. Snapchat selects Snaps submitted by users at specific events to include in public Our Stories. These public stories remain viewable for 24 hours. So by submitting to Our Stories, you allow Snapchat to keep your Snap as they choose.
Unofficial Ways Snapchat Photos Get Saved
Despite Snapchat’s ephemeral premise, there are unofficial workarounds people use to keep Snaps in ways Snapchat didn’t necessarily intend:
Screenshots
The recipient can easily take a screenshot of a Snap before it vanishes by pressing Volume Down and Power/Lock simultaneously. Many people screenshot funny or memorable Snaps as mementos. The sender is not notified when a recipient screenshots their Snap.
iOS Screen Recording
On iOS, you can screen record whatever’s on your display. So people can record video of Snaps they view or take pictures of their screen. Snapchat has no way to detect or block this.
Android Screen Recording Apps
There are various third-party Android apps that allow secretly recording your screen. Like iOS screen recording, these apps can be used to preserve Snaps.
Snapchat Viewer Apps
Various shady third-party apps claim they can let you view or save others’ Snaps without them knowing. These apps have consistently been shut down by Snapchat, but new ones keep popping up.
Copying from Notifications
On Android, Snapchat shows a preview of received Snaps in your notifications shade. Before opening the Snap, you can take a screenshot of this preview. iPhones don’t display Snap previews.
Copying from Chat
On iOS, you can long-press on a received Snap in Chat to get the option to save it to your camera roll. On Android, you can long-press for the option to copy the Snap to your clipboard.
Rooted/Jailbroken Phone
By rooting Android or jailbreaking iOS, you gain access to your device’s file system and data folders. This allows digging through Snapchat’s caches to find saved Snap files. However, this is complex.
When Does Snapchat Actually Delete Snaps?
Okay, so clearly there are plenty of ways Snaps can be saved without your knowledge. But what happens on Snapchat’s end? When does Snapchat permanently erase Snaps from their servers?
| Snap Type | Deletion Time |
|---|---|
| One-to-one Snap | Once opened by recipient |
| Story Snap | 24 hours after posting |
| Chat Snap | After opened by recipient |
| Memories Snap | When deleted by user |
| Our Stories Snap | After 24 hours |
| Spotlight Snap | At Snapchat’s discretion |
So Snapchat itself deletes one-to-one and Chat Snaps extremely quickly – right after they’re viewed. Unopened Snaps also delete after 30 days. Stories, Spotlight, and Our Stories Snaps hang around 24 hours or longer before Snapchat wipes them. And Memories stay until manually removed. In summary, Snapchat erases Snaps from their servers very soon after sending and viewing occurs, with some exceptions.
Conclusion
While Snapchat promotes disappearing Snaps, there are both official features and unofficial workarounds that allow capturing or saving Snaps. The recipient can screenshot or record Snaps without detection. However, Snapchat itself deletes most Snaps almost instantly after they are viewed. One-to-one Snaps in particular vanish permanently from Snapchat’s servers right after being opened. Overall, you should not assume Snaps will disappear without a trace. But Snapchat’s servers only retain most Snaps fleetingly.