Snapchat Export Not Working? Here's What's Wrong & How to Fix It

Why the export looks broken

Snapchat's export was never meant to be a ready-to-use photo album. It is a bundle of raw parts — HTML index pages, a memories_history.json file, and download links that point to your media on Snapchat's servers and expire after about a week. On its own it gives you no dates, no locations, and no easy way to get the actual photos and videos out. Each symptom below comes from one of those raw parts. Memport's whole job is to reassemble them for you, on your phone, before anything expires.

Problem: the export is empty — "no memories" in the ZIP

What's happening: you downloaded the wrong export. Snapchat offers a general account-data download — a small ZIP of HTML pages about your account with no photos — separate from the Memories export. If your ZIP has no media, that's the one you got.

Problem: the ZIP is only HTML pages with download links, not photos

What's happening: this is normal, not a bug. Snapchat doesn't put your media directly in the ZIP. Instead you get HTML index files plus a memories_history.json that link to each photo and video on Snapchat's servers — and every link expires after a limited window. Opening the HTML by hand and clicking hundreds or thousands of links is where most people give up.

How Memport handles it: Memport reads those links straight out of the export and downloads every original photo and video for you, before the links expire, then saves them into your iPhone Photos library. You never touch the HTML.

Problem: photos are blank, or show today's date or the wrong date

What's happening: the media in the export carries no proper date or location, so every file looks like it was created the day you downloaded it. Photos then dumps everything into "today" instead of the right year. The real timestamps and GPS coordinates live separately in the memories_history.json file, and nothing applies them for you.

How Memport handles it: Memport reads that JSON and writes the original date, time and location back into every photo and video (EXIF), so your library sorts them into the years and places they actually belong to — and your map view works again.

Problem: the download links have expired

What's happening: Snapchat's memory download links only stay live for about seven days after the export is prepared. A request you left sitting for a week or two will simply fail.

Problem: the export came in several parts, or is many gigabytes

What's happening: a large Memories library is split into several separate ZIP archives — sometimes many parts totalling several gigabytes. Every part is needed for a complete library, and merging them by hand is slow and error-prone.

How Memport handles it: save all of the ZIPs to your iPhone, then open Memport and select every part at once. It imports all of them together into a single, correctly dated library — there's no per-part limit to work around.

At a glance: the raw export vs. imported with Memport

Fixing it before the 5GB deletion deadline

There's a reason not to leave a broken export half-solved. Snapchat has capped free Memories storage at 5GB, and Memories over that limit become eligible for deletion starting September 26, 2026. If a failed or expired export means you still have nothing saved, your oldest snaps are the ones most at risk. Getting a clean, correctly dated import done now takes the deadline off your plate for good.

Frequently asked questions

My Snapchat export is empty — there are no memories in the ZIP

You almost certainly downloaded the wrong export. Snapchat has two separate downloads: the general account-data export (a small ZIP of HTML pages about your account, with no photos) and the Memories export. If your ZIP has no media, request the Memories export specifically: Settings, Privacy Controls, Export My Memories, choose All time, and make sure both "Export your Memories" and "Export JSON Files" are enabled. Avoid the "Request Only Memories" shortcut, which omits the JSON that carries your dates and locations.

The ZIP only contains HTML pages with download links, not my photos and videos

That is normal — Snapchat does not put your media directly in the ZIP. The export is a set of HTML index files plus a memories_history.json that point to each photo and video on Snapchat’s servers, and every link expires after a limited window. Opening the HTML by hand and clicking hundreds or thousands of links is where people give up. Memport reads those links straight from the export and downloads every original photo and video for you, before the links expire, then saves them to your Photos library.

My saved photos are blank, or show today’s date or the wrong date

The media files in the export carry no proper dates or location — every file looks like it was created on the day you downloaded it, so Photos dumps everything into today instead of the right year. The real timestamps and GPS coordinates live separately in the memories_history.json file. Memport reads that file and writes the original date, time and location back into every photo and video (EXIF), so your library sorts them into the years and places they actually belong to and your map view works again.

The download links have expired

Snapchat’s memory download links only stay live for about seven days after the export is prepared, so a request you left sitting will fail. Just request the export again: Settings, Privacy Controls, Export My Memories, All time, with both toggles on. When the new email arrives, download the ZIP files right away and import them with Memport promptly, while the links are still valid. Memport pulls the media as soon as you import, which is exactly why doing it quickly matters.

My export came in several parts, or is many gigabytes

A large Memories library is split into several separate ZIP archives — sometimes many parts totalling several gigabytes. Every part is needed for a complete library, and merging them by hand is error-prone. Save all of the ZIPs to your iPhone, then open Memport and select every part at once: it imports all of them together into a single, correctly dated library. There is no per-part limit to work around.

Do I need a computer to fix any of this?

No. Every step happens on your iPhone: request the export in Snapchat, download the ZIP files to your Files or Downloads, and import them with Memport. Nothing is uploaded to any server — the download of your media and the date and location restore both run on your phone.

How do I re-request my Snapchat Memories export correctly?

Open Snapchat, go to Settings, then Privacy Controls, then Export My Memories, and choose All time. Enable both "Export your Memories" and "Export JSON Files" and submit. You can also start the request in a browser at accounts.snapchat.com/accounts/downloadmydata. Snapchat then emails you fresh download links; save the ZIP files and import them with Memport before the links expire.

Is it free to check whether Memport fixes my export?

Yes. Memport is free to try, so you can import your export and see your restored, correctly dated memories first. Unlocking your whole library is a one-time $9.99 purchase, with no subscription and no account.