Guide
What is memories_history.json? Your Snapchat export's metadata, explained
Open your Snapchat export and you'll find a file called memories_history.json. It looks technical, but it's the most important file in the whole download — it's where the real dates and locations of your memories actually live.
What's inside it
The file is a structured list with one entry per memory. Each entry typically records the capture date and time, the GPS location, the media type (image or video), and a link to the media. In other words: everything your photo library wants to know about a memory — except it's sitting in a separate file instead of inside the photos and videos themselves.
Why it matters
Snapchat's export never writes this information into the media files. So your photos and videos come out with no capture date and no location — your gallery falls back to the import date and an empty map. The data isn't lost; it's just in the JSON, waiting to be joined back to the files.
How it gets used to fix your export
SnapMemories reads memories_history.json, matches each entry to its photo or video, and writes the date and location back into the file's own metadata (EXIF for photos, the QuickTime atoms for video). Once that's done the JSON has served its purpose and your memories carry their real dates and places everywhere you import them. See how it works.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I open memories_history.json myself?
- Yes — it's a plain text JSON file you can open in any text editor or browser. It's readable, but it's a long list of entries and download links, not something you'd match to thousands of files by hand.
- Do I need the JSON file to fix my memories?
- Yes. It's the only place the real capture dates and locations exist — the photos and videos themselves have none. Keep it with your export; a tool like SnapMemories reads it to restore the metadata.
- The links in the JSON have expired — is my export useless?
- Not at all. If your export already includes the media files, the JSON's job is just to supply each memory's date and location, which don't expire. The download links only matter if your export references media still hosted by Snapchat.