Where are Snapchat stickers saved?

Snapchat stickers are a fun way to spice up your snaps and stories. The app offers a wide variety of stickers, from cute animals to emojis and more. But have you ever wondered where exactly Snapchat saves the stickers you use? Here’s a detailed look at how and where Snapchat stores stickers.

Snapchat sticker basics

Before we dive into where stickers are saved, let’s do a quick rundown of how stickers work in Snapchat:

• Stickers are decorative images and emoji that you can overlay on your photos or videos.
• Snapchat offers standard stickers within the app, but you can also add creative stickers from third-parties.
• To use a sticker, take a snap, then tap the sticker icon in the top right and select your desired sticker.
• Position the sticker anywhere you like and save your snap to share.

So in a nutshell, Snapchat stickers help customize your snaps in a creative way. Now let’s look at where these fun extras are stored.

Are Snapchat stickers saved in the app?

When you add stickers to your snaps on Snapchat, the stickers themselves are not saved directly in the app. Unlike photos and videos shared on Snapchat, which are saved temporarily on Snapchat’s servers, stickers do not get stored in the app.

This makes sense when you consider the purpose of Snapchat stickers. They are visual elements intended to decorate your temporary photos and videos. There is no need for the stickers themselves to be saved permanently, as they are not the focus of what you are sharing.

So in summary:

• Stickers disappear once your snap is viewed.
• The stickers themselves are not saved directly within Snapchat.
• Only the snaps with stickers applied get briefly saved on Snapchat’s servers.

Where do Snapchat stickers get saved then?

If stickers aren’t getting stored in the Snapchat app directly, then where do they live? The stickers you see in Snapchat are actually saved on Snap Inc’s servers.

Here’s a bit more detail on how it works:

• The base sticker designs are saved on Snapchat’s servers.
• When you select a sticker in the app, Snapchat pulls the corresponding sticker file to overlay on your snap.
• Your device downloads the sticker on-demand when you use it.
• Once the snap is viewed, the sticker does not continue to take up storage or memory on your device.

Essentially, Snapchat stickers reside on Snap Inc’s backend servers. The app downloads the necessary sticker image when you add it to a snap, but does not permanently store it on your device. This helps keep your phone’s storage and memory clear for other data.

What about third-party Snapchat stickers?

In addition to Snapchat’s default stickers, you can also get access to third-party sticker packs. These include branded sticker sets from companies and creative packs designed by independent artists.

So where are these third-party Snapchat stickers stored?

The answer is very similar to the default stickers. Third-party sticker images live on the creator’s own servers. When you use one of these stickers, the Snapchat app downloads the file in that moment from the external server.

However, there is one difference with third-party stickers. To use a third-party pack, you must first subscribe to it in the Snapchat app. This adds the pack to your account, allowing you to access those stickers going forward.

Key takeaways on third-party stickers:

• The stickers live on the creator’s servers.
• You need to subscribe in Snapchat to use a pack.
• Stickers then download temporarily when used in a snap.
• Un-subscribing removes the pack from your account.

So while the sticker images themselves aren’t stored directly within Snapchat, subscribing does save your access to the external sticker pack.

Sticker data usage

Now that we know where Snapchat stickers are stored, what does this mean for data usage? Having stickers in your snaps doesn’t take up storage space on your device, but it does still use up data to display them.

Here are a few key points about data usage and Snapchat stickers:

• Snapchat will use mobile data or WiFi to download stickers on-demand.
• The more stickers you use, the more data it takes to load them.
• Large, high-res sticker packs use more data than simple packs.
• Pre-loading sticker packs over WiFi can help minimize mobile data usage.

While stickers are usually small image files, they can still eat up data, especially if you use them frequently. To help manage your data consumption, be selective about the number of sticker packs you subscribe to, and pre-load packs when on WiFi whenever possible.

Caching stickers on your device

Although Snapchat stickers are not permanently stored on your device, Snapchat will temporarily cache stickers there. This helps the app load stickers faster when you use them repeatedly.

Here’s how Snapchat’s sticker caching works:

• The first time you use a sticker, Snapchat downloads it on-demand.
• If you use the same sticker again soon after, Snapchat loads the cached version rather than re-downloading.
• The cached stickers are cleared out after a short period of time.

This sticker caching allows you to access frequently used stickers quicker, for a smoother experience adding them to your snaps. But the cache duration is short, so stickers do not occupy storage or memory long-term on your device.

Key takeaways on caching:

• Snapchat temporarily caches recently used stickers.
• This allows quicker access if you reuse stickers in a short period.
• The sticker cache is cleared out after a while.

Finding Snapchat sticker files

Now you may be wondering, is it actually possible to locate the sticker files on my phone if Snapchat is caching them? The answer is yes, you can find the Snapchat sticker cache if you dig into your phone’s local data.

Here are the basic steps to locate cached Snapchat stickers on an Android device:

1. Open your device’s File Manager app.
2. Go to the Android > data folder.
3. Open the folder com.snapchat.android.
4. Go to cache > received_image_snaps.
5. This folder contains temporarily cached sticker files from Snapchat.

The file names will be random strings of numbers and letters rather than descriptive sticker names. And again, the contents of this folder are temporary and will be automatically cleared out by Snapchat periodically.

Key points on finding sticker files:

• You can find stickers cached by Snapchat using a file manager.
• They are stored temporarily in an obscure subfolder.
• File names won’t indicate what the stickers are.
• Snapchat deletes the cached stickers automatically after a while.

Backing up Snapchat stickers

Since Snapchat stickers are not permanently saved in the app, is there any way to backup your favorite stickers? Unfortunately, there is no official, authorized way to download and backup stickers from Snapchat.

You cannot even use the cache folder we located above for backing up stickers. That folder is temporary and sticker file names are random strings rather than descriptive names.

However, some third-party apps claim to allow saving Snapchat stickers. We cannot vouch for any of these methods, since they violate Snapchat’s terms of use. But a few options some people use include:

• Third-party apps like SaveSnap and SnapSaver.
• “Sticker saver” apps that record your device screen as you use a sticker.
• Taking screenshots of stickers in the Snapchat app.

But again, Snapchat does not authorize backing up stickers outside of their app. Violating their ToS could potentially get your account banned.

Key takeaways on backing up stickers:

• There is no official way to download and save Snapchat stickers.
• The cache folder contents are temporary and cannot be used for backup.
• Third-party methods may work but violate Snapchat’s ToS.
• Sticker backups could risk your account being banned.

Do Snapchat stickers take up storage space?

After learning how Snapchat stickers work under the hood, it’s clear that they do not take up permanent storage space on your device. But let’s recap the key reasons why:

• Stickers are stored on Snapchat or third-party servers, not your device.
• Your device downloads stickers on-demand when you use them.
• Snapchat caches recently used stickers temporarily.
• The cache is cleared out automatically after a short time.

So while stickers may use up temporary network bandwidth and cache space, they don’t permanently eat up your phone’s storage capacity.

The only exception is if you were to manually back up stickers from Snapchat onto your device storage using unauthorized third-party apps. This keeps copies of the stickers permanently unless you manually delete them.

But in general usage within Snapchat itself, stickers do not get permanently saved to your phone’s storage. They simply appear overlaid on your snaps when viewed.

In summary:

• Snapchat stickers do not take up permanent storage space.
• They are downloaded on-demand when viewed in snaps.
• Only unauthorized backup copies would increase storage usage.

Do Snapchat stickers count against your storage limit?

Similarly, Snapchat stickers also do not count against your account’s storage limit. This storage limit refers to how much total space your Snapchat memories (photos, videos, etc.) can consume.

Again, since stickers are not permanently saved to your account, they do not get included in storage limit calculations. Your storage total is only based on snaps and stories you post to your account.

You can confirm this by checking your storage usage breakdown in Snapchat’s settings. Stickers will not contribute any percentage or amount to your total usage.

The only exception would be if you manually save a snap with stickers applied using one of Snapchat’s save features. This would save the snap image itself, sticker and all, counting against your limit.

But in general, stickers are ephemeral overlays, rather than permanent account content. So they are not factored into your storage restrictions.

In summary:

• Snapchat stickers do not count against your account’s storage limit.
• Only saved snaps with stickers applied would impact storage.
• Stickers are ephemeral and not stored permanently.

Conclusion

To wrap up, Snapchat stickers are a fun way to decorate your snaps, but they are not stored permanently within Snapchat itself. The base stickers live on Snapchat’s servers, while third-party stickers reside on external servers.

Your device downloads stickers on-the-fly when you use them in snaps. Snapchat caches recently used stickers briefly for faster performance. But these cached sticker files get automatically cleared out after a short time.

As a result, Snapchat stickers do not take up permanent device storage or count against your account storage limit. The ephemeral stickers simply add visual flair to your temporary snaps. So feel free to decorate to your heart’s content without worrying about storage!