How to See All the Snapchats You've Received

This article explains how to see the different types of data you accumulate as a Snapchat user. Snapchat's default behavior is to delete all snaps from its servers once the recipient has seen them.

How to Download Snapchat Data to See Every Snap You’ve Ever Received

Though it's not possible to see all the Snapchats you have received, you can see the metadata. The metadata lists information about Snaps you have recently sent and received. Snapchat is an ephemeral messaging service; all snaps are automatically deleted once seen by the recipients or have expired. Also, Snapchat deletes any unopened Snaps after 30 days from the servers.

1. In Snapchat, select your profile photo on the top left.

2. Select the Gear icon (for Settings).

3. Scroll down the screen and select My Data in the Account Actions group.

4. Snapchat may ask you to log in again. Enter your username/email and password and verify your identity via the reCAPTCHA if prompted.

5. Select My Data again on the Manage My Account screen.

6. Enter the email address where you want to receive the Snapchat history files, and confirm it again.

7. Select Submit Request. Snapchat receives the request and will send an email confirmation.

8. The Snaps History will be sent to the email address linked to your account.

9. Open the email from Snapchat's support team and select the "click here" hyperlink to go to the Snapchat log-in screen.

10. Re-verify your identity again. Snapchat might prompt you to verify with a code sent to your registered phone if it senses a suspicious login.

11. The My Data page will display in a browser window. Go to the Your Data is Ready section and select the link for the ZIP file.

12. Open the unzipped folder and select the index.html file to view the list of your Snap History Metadata.

What Type of Information Can You See in Snapchat's History?

Snapchat lists the data types on the My Data page. Scroll down the Data Available for Download section and see the app's information categories in the downloaded file. Some of the important ones are:

• Snap History
• Saved Chat History
• Search History
• Memories
• Purchase & Shop History
• Subscriptions

As Snapchat messages are short-lived, the server deletes snaps and chats automatically once the recipient has read them. Snapchat's privacy policy and the support site say that other pieces of data are stored for different periods. For instance, Snapchat's servers keep Story posts for a more extended period. Likewise, location information is stored for various lengths of time. You can download any image saved as a Memory, but the download links can expire seven days after generating the data file.