A guide on how to delete your Snapchat account without losing the memories you want to keep.
The developers of Snapchat were recently charged with breaches of privacy after the abuse of some employees who basically spied on users came to light. Not very pleasant information, is it? In fact, it is very likely that you are even thinking of leaving this social network.
Actually, no matter the reason: avoid being seen by strangers, commit to fighting an internet addiction or on the occasion of your 25th birthday. Be that as it may, we help you do it.
How To Download Your Snapchat Data
Before deleting your Snapchat account, you probably want to save those fun photos and videos you shared, and perhaps other information related to your activity on the social network. Unfortunately, Snapchat does not offer a one-time way to download information, so we have compiled the different options it offers.
1. Set Up The Backup Of Your Snaps And Stories
Snapchat doesn’t save your photos and videos by default. Any Snap that you send to your friends will disappear as soon as they have seen it, and if you publish a Story, it will disappear in 24 hours. There is no way to get them back later.
If you are thinking of leaving the social network, you probably want copies of your available publications. To do this, activate Memories, a function that allows you to save your Snaps on your device (Reel) or cloud (Memories):
- Open your profile and press the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Go to Features (Android) or My account and select
- Go to Where to save.
- In the Save button option, configure the folder where your Snaps will be saved. And, to save copies of your videos and photos on your device, select Memories and device, or Only on the device if you do not want your data to be saved in the cloud.
- For the My History Publications option, select Memories. This configuration will save you from having to save each publication manually.
As for your personal conversations, you will have to press Save every time you send a Snap that you would like to keep.
2. Download The Photos And Videos Of Memories
If you want to leave Snapchat now, but have been saving your Snaps in Memories, download your favourite photos to your device. In the iOS application, you can do it in one go.
- Go to Memories
- Tap the box in the upper right corner
- Select the Snaps you want to download
- Press the arrow that appears at the bottom of the screen
- Select Save
And on Android:
- Access Memories
- Press the photo to download it
- Select Export snap
- Click Reel
3. Contact Support Service
Are you interested in more than just photos? You can also contact the Snapchat support service and request all the information they have available: the history of the songs identified with Shazam, the Bitmoji avatars, the photos and videos that you saved in Memories (if any), among others. The support team will consider your request and send you what you ask for.
4. Obtain A File With The Data Collected By The Social Network
If you want to review the history of your activity on Snapchat, a list of conversations, logins and others, you can request this information from the social network.
This is what you will get:
- History of your authorizations, purchases, locations, searches and much more.
- A file with your conversations.
- Your profile data, friends and subscription information.
- Your Bitmoji avatars.
All this will come in a single ZIP file that you can keep as a souvenir, but for this you must have an email address associated with your account. You do not have it? Pay attention:
- Tap on your profile picture icon located in the upper left corner of the app.
- Open Settings by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right corner.
- Select Email.
- Enter your email and press Save.
- Open your email, look for the Snapchat message and tap Confirm email.
Do you have an email associated with your account? You can request the file immediately. If you prefer to do it through the application:
- Open your profile and tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Scroll to Privacy (Android) or Account Actions (iOS) and select My information.
- Enter your login credentials and password.
- Read the list of data that will be sent to you in the file and press Send request.
If you request the file through the browser interface:
- Go to https: //accounts.snapchat.com and log in with your credentials on the website.
- Click on My information.
- Read the list of data to be sent in the file and click Submit Request.
In any case, after a while, you will find a ZIP file with your data in your confirmed email account.
Delete Your Snapchat Account
Once the issue of backups has been resolved, it is most likely that you proceed with the deletion of your account. Like most social networks, Snapchat first suggests that you simply deactivate your profile, so you always have time to change your mind.
You cannot delete your Snapchat account through the application, but you must do it from the website:
- In your browser, go to https: //accounts.snapchat.com and enter your login credentials (username) and password
- Click Delete my account
- Enter your username and password again
- Click Continue
Ready. Now you just have to delete the application from your mobile devices.
Recover Your Snapchat Account
You can recover your account for the first 30 days after the deactivation date. To do this, access the system through the application with your username and password. The program will ask you to wait a few seconds, then log in again and you’re done! Your account is activated again. All your data, including your profile, will be recovered as if you had never left.
