Snapchat Sparks Outrage After Announcing Charges for Photo and Video Storage
Snapchat has announced that users who have saved more than 5GB of content in their Memories will soon have to pay to keep access, a major departure from the free storage option that’s been available since 2016.
The news has sparked a backlash online with many long time users accusing the app of putting profit over loyalty. Some have built up years of photos and videos under the assumption that storage would always be free and now they have to make tough choices as the new policy rolls out.
According to the company the decision is part of a “global rollout” to ensure the platform can continue to invest in Memories, a feature that allows users to save and re-share snaps that were originally designed to disappear after 24 hours. Snap estimates that users have saved over one trillion Memories since the feature launched.
Storage Plans and Prices
Users who exceed the free 5GB limit will be prompted to upgrade to a paid plan, starting with 100GB of storage for around Ksh257 per month. Snapchat+ and Snapchat Premium subscribers will get larger storage tiers with 250GB in the Ksh516 monthly Premium package.
Snap will give users a 12 month grace period to get below the limit, during which their Memories will be stored temporarily. Users will also be able to download their archives to their devices if they don’t want to subscribe.
A spokesperson said the new limits won’t affect the “vast majority of Snapchatters” as most users store less than 5GB of content.
Mixed Reactions
Despite this assurance social media is filled with complaints. Some are calling it “unfair” and “greedy” while others say it’s a betrayal of trust.
Industry experts however say this is just the beginning. Drew Benvie, CEO of social media consultancy Battenhall told BBC News that charging for storage is inevitable across all major platforms.
“The road to paying for storage on social media is inevitable,” Benvie said. “In an era where we post less but save more, this is how digital platforms are evolving.”
Snapchat has over 900 million monthly active users but still trails behind rivals like Instagram and TikTok which have billions of users worldwide.
For now the company says the change is to sustain Memories for the long term – but will users pay?
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Snapchat Sparks Outrage After Announcing Charges for Photo and Video Storage