Snapchat is a popular social media platform known for its disappearing photo and video messages called “snaps”. Users can also post snaps to their “Story”, which appears for 24 hours before automatically deleting. However, there are a few ways you can view your own Snapchat stories again before they disappear:
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Save Your Stories in Memories
The easiest way to save your Snapchat stories is by adding them to your Memories. Here’s how:
- After posting a story, tap your profile icon in the top left corner
- Under “My Stories”, tap on the story you want to save
- Tap the 3 dots icon in the top right and select “Save”
This saves your story to the Memories section where you can view it anytime, even after it expires from your story.
Use a Third-Party App
There are several third-party apps that let you save Snapchat stories:
Snapchat Saver Apps
- SnapSave – A popular app that saves stories, snaps, and chat messages.
- SnapBox – Saves snaps, stories, chat logs, and lets you download media.
To use these apps:
- Download and install the app on your device
- Login with your Snapchat account credentials
- The app will automatically save any new stories you post
- You can then view and download saved stories from the app before they disappear from Snapchat
Screen Recording
Your device’s built-in screen recording feature can also be used to save Snapchat stories:
On iPhone
- Swipe down from the top right corner to open Control Center
- Tap the Screen Recording icon
- Open the Snapchat story you want to save
- Tap the red bar at the top of your screen to stop recording
- The video will be saved to your Photos app
On Android
- Open the story you want to save
- Take a screenshot by simultaneously pressing the Power and Volume Down buttons
- Open your gallery to view the saved screenshot
Screen recording will save exactly what you see on your screen, allowing you to view your story again later.
Repost Expired Stories
If your story has already expired from Snapchat, you can also repost it by saving the snaps you posted to your Memories:
- Tap your profile icon
- Go to My Stories > Camera Roll
- Tap any snaps you posted to your expired story
- Tap the 3 dots icon and select “Save to Memories”
You can then post the snaps to your new story again for another 24 hours!
Change Story Expiration (Snapchat+)
Snapchat+ subscribers can choose how long their stories last before expiring:
- Take a snap for your story
- Go to send it to your Story
- Tap the timer icon to pick a custom expiration period up to 7 days
So with Snapchat+, you can make stories last longer before they disappear.
Recover Recently Deleted Stories
If your Snapchat story disappeared less than 30 days ago, you may be able to recover it using data recovery apps:
- iMyFone D-Back (iPhone) – Scans device and finds recently deleted Snapchat stories
- FonePaw Android Data Recovery (Android) – Recovers disappeared Snapchat data
However, success depends on whether the content still exists on your device’s storage. And Snapchat may ban accounts for using third-party apps.
Take Screenshots
The easiest way to save disappearing Snapchat stories is to simply take screenshots as you’re viewing them. But this will send the creator a notification that you took a screenshot.
To screenshot a Snapchat story:
- On iPhone – Press the Power and Home buttons simultaneously
- On Android – Press the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously
The screenshot will save to your camera roll so you can view the story again later.
Save Chat Reply
You can also save your own story from an expiring chat reply:
- Reply to your own story from the chat screen
- Press and hold your reply in the chat to bring up the “Save in Chat” option
- This saves the story reply so you can view it again after your story disappears
Conclusion
While Snapchat stories are meant to be ephemeral content that disappears in 24 hours, there are ways you can save and recover your own stories through Snapchat Memories, third-party apps, screenshots, and chat replies. Just be aware that taking screenshots and using unauthorized apps technically goes against Snapchat’s terms of service.
So if you want to preserve special stories before they vanish forever, use the built-in Snapchat Memories feature, Snapchat+, or screenshot capture to save your stories legally.
