ISLAMABAD: Snapchat, which has been popular among users worldwide for over a decade and gained massive popularity in Pakistan around 2014, has left its Pakistani fans frustrated after introducing a new paid storage requirement.
Many Snapchat users in Pakistan are now seeing a message on their app asking them to buy a storage plan if they want to keep their photos and videos saved in “Memories” or backed up. The message appears when users open the app, warning them that their media could be deleted unless they subscribe to the Rs300-per-month Snapchat+ plan.
This move has caused anger and disappointment among long-time users who have been using the app for years to document their lives. For them, Snapchat has not just been a messaging app but a personal archive of memories.
“I have over 30,000 photos and videos from my eight years on Snapchat. This was the feature I loved the most and what made Snapchat special for me and my friends,” said Waqas Khan, a long-time user. “Now I have to go through the hassle of backing up everything manually, which will take a lot of time and effort.”
Another user, Atif Javed, who has been on Snapchat since his college days, shared a similar frustration. “Since last night, I’ve been seeing a pop-up asking me to pay Rs300 or lose my data. My Memories are around 83GB, but I’m not paying a single paisa. I’d rather buy an external SSD or hard drive,” he said. “Snapchat doesn’t even back up photos in their original quality; they’re compressed and pixelated.”
Here’s what the not-so-welcome pop-up message looks like when Snapchat asks you to pay Rs300 after opening Memories:
Free Memories storage on Snapchat capped at 5GB
About two weeks ago, Snapchat had already announced its plan to start charging users for storing photos and videos, prompting backlash from users globally. However, it was unclear when the change would affect Pakistani users — until now.
Nearly a decade after serving as a digital time capsule for millions, Snapchat has officially put a price on its Memories feature. The company has capped free Memories storage at 5GB. Users who exceed this limit must either export their Memories or subscribe to one of Snapchat’s new paid storage plans to preserve them.
If users choose not to pay and their storage exceeds the limit, the app will keep the oldest Snaps while deleting the most recent ones to stay within the 5GB cap. Snapchat has given users 12 months of temporary storage for Memories that exceed the limit, allowing them some time to manage or export their content.
In Pakistan, Snapchat is offering 1TB of Memories storage for Rs300 per month. While some users may find this reasonable, long-time and loyal Snapchat fans say it feels unfair and disappointing after years of free use.
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