“Half of my life is on this app and now they expect us to pay for it.” That sentence sums up the fury spreading among Snapchat users. The company’s plan to charge for storing old photos and videos has sparked widespread criticism and claims of corporate greed.
Users forced to pay for nostalgia
In September, Snap, the company behind Snapchat, announced that users with more than five gigabytes of saved Memories will need to pay. Many users store years of milestones, friendships, and personal moments, making the change feel like a direct attack on their digital history.
Snap defended the move, comparing it to paid storage services offered by Apple and Google. The company also said users could download their Memories to their devices if they prefer not to pay — though some users have tens of gigabytes to manage.
A spokesperson said the update would affect only a small number of users. They admitted that “switching from free to paid service is never easy” but insisted it would be “worth it.” Online users strongly disagree.
Outcry over the ‘memory tax’
An online petition labels the new charge a “memory tax.” Critics called it “ridiculous,” “unethical,” and “dystopian.” Many say they will delete the app rather than pay.
On Google Play, user Natacha Jonsson left a one-star review. “If I know millennials right, most of us have years worth of memories on Snapchat,” she wrote. “And most of us only kept the app for that reason. 5GB is absolutely nothing when you have years of memories… Bye Snap.”
London journalism student Guste Ven, 20, shared on TikTok that she plans to leave Snapchat entirely. “I downloaded all my memories as soon as I could,” she told a British news outlet. “Almost all of my teenage years are on Snapchat. Charging for something that has always been free doesn’t make sense.”
Longtime users feel abandoned
Snapchat has not yet revealed the cost of its new storage plans in the UK. The company said the rollout will happen gradually worldwide.
Londoner Amber Daley, 23, said she would be “distraught” if the fees are introduced. She has used the app daily since 2014 and described it as “a part of everyday life.”
Amber said she understood that the platform needs revenue but argued that the Memories feature carries deep emotional value. “It’s unfair to charge loyal users who have supported the app for years,” she said. “These aren’t just called Memories — they are our real memories.”
The cost of storing memories
Charging for cloud storage is common. Millions already pay Apple or Google to protect their photos and videos. But Snapchat users say the change feels different because they built their archives under the expectation of free access.
“Hosting trillions of Memories isn’t cheap,” said social media consultant Matt Navarra. “Snapchat has to pay for storage, bandwidth, encryption, backups, and content delivery.” He added that the move feels like a “bait and switch.” “Encouraging people to archive their lives for years and then charging them doesn’t feel right,” he said. “These Memories aren’t just files — they are emotional artefacts.”
When memories become business
Many users share that view. One reviewer called their saved photos and videos “the most precious thing to me.” “They include every part of my life — births, losses, family moments, friends, and my teenage years,” they wrote.
Dr. Taylor Annabell, a postdoctoral researcher at Utrecht University, said Snapchat’s decision highlights the risks of relying on commercial platforms for personal history. “These companies profit from user trust and the illusion of endless access,” she said. “It keeps people connected to the platform. But they are not guardians of our memories — they are businesses selling access to them.”
