Guide
How to download all your Snapchat Memories to a PC
Saving Memories one by one from the app doesn’t scale past a few dozen. To get your whole library onto a Windows PC you use Snapchat’s data export, then fix one thing it gets wrong: every file arrives with today’s date and no location. This guide covers both parts, on Windows 10 or 11.
1. Request your export with Memories included
In the Snapchat app, or at accounts.snapchat.com in your PC’s browser, open My Data, choose to include your Memories, pick the date range and submit. Snapchat prepares the files and emails you when they’re ready. A large library can take hours or longer, which is normal. The settings that decide whether you get the actual photos and videos back (rather than just a list of links) are covered step by step in how to export your Snapchat Memories.
2. Download every part on the PC
Open the email link on the PC and download all the files. Big libraries come as several parts named mydata~….zip, mydata~…-2.zip and so on. You need every one: the part that holds the JSON manifest isn’t always the one with most of your media. If a link stops working, it has expired; a 403 on the download means you request a fresh link, not that your memories are gone.
3. Don’t unzip the parts into one folder
In File Explorer, double-clicking a zip only previews it. To extract, right-click and choose Extract All. If you have more than one part, give each its own folder. The parts reuse the same folder names inside, so extracting them into one place makes Windows overwrite files, and you lose memories without any warning. You can also skip extracting entirely, because MemoriesExport takes the zips as they are. More detail in how to open the Snapchat export zip and what to do with multiple zip files.
4. Why every file shows the wrong date on Windows
Open any exported photo’s Properties → Details and the Date taken field is blank. Snapchat keeps the real capture time and GPS for every memory in a separate file, memories_history.json, and writes nothing into the photos and videos themselves. So File Explorer sorts them by the day you downloaded them, and Google Photos, OneDrive or any other library you import into lumps years of snaps onto a single day with no location. See what’s in the Snapchat export for the full layout.
5. Write the dates and locations back into the files
MemoriesExport reads memories_history.json and writes each memory’s capture date and GPS into the file itself: EXIF DateTimeOriginal for photos, QuickTime creation dates for videos, plus the location fields. It also merges caption and sticker overlays back onto your photos when Snapchat exported them. You can run it two ways on a PC:
- In the browser. Choose all the
mydata~….zipparts at once, and you get back a ready-to-import zip. The first 100 memories are free. - The Windows app (Windows 10/11, 64-bit). It processes everything on your PC with nothing uploaded, which suits big libraries. The installer isn’t code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may say “Windows protected your PC”; click More info then Run anyway.
A single one-time purchase covers both. The online vs. desktop comparison helps you pick.
6. Check the result, then import
Right-click a fixed photo, open Properties → Details, and Date taken should now show the day you took the snap. Don’t judge by Date modified or Date created: those describe the file on your disk, not the photo. Once the dates look right, import the folder into the photo library you use. For Google Photos specifically, see fixing the wrong date in Google Photos.
One limit worth knowing
The date and location of each memory come back reliably. The exact order of several snaps taken on the same day sometimes can’t be recovered, because Snapchat’s export doesn’t give every file its own timestamp within the day. Each one still lands on the right date; the minute-level order inside that day may be off.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I download all my Snapchat Memories to my PC at once?
- Yes, but not from the app's Memories grid. The way to get everything in one go is Snapchat's data export (My Data): request it with Memories included, and Snapchat emails you a link to one or more mydata~….zip files that together hold your whole library. Download those on the PC.
- Why do my Snapchat photos show today's date on Windows?
- Snapchat's export doesn't write the capture date into the files. File Explorer falls back to when the file landed on your PC, and the Date taken field under Properties → Details is empty. The real dates are in memories_history.json inside the export; they have to be written back into each file.
- Should I unzip the parts into one folder?
- No. The parts use overlapping folder names inside, so extracting them on top of each other overwrites files. Give each part its own folder, or don't extract at all: MemoriesExport accepts the original zip files.
- Does the Windows app upload my memories?
- No. The desktop app processes everything on your PC and nothing is uploaded. It runs on Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit).
- Windows says 'Windows protected your PC' when I run the installer. Is that normal?
- Yes. The installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn about an unrecognised app. Click More info, then Run anyway. Only do that for an installer you downloaded from memories-export.com.
- How do I check the dates were fixed?
- Right-click a photo and open Properties → Details. Date taken should show when the snap was captured, not the download day. Don't judge by Date modified or Date created in File Explorer: those are file-system dates, not the photo's capture date.