Don't worry: those memorable (and quirky) Snaps you'll be saving on Snapchat can be limited to your own viewing pleasure.
Snapchat has only recently announced a new section on the app called Snapchat Memories, which lets users create an archive of their past Snaps and Stories. The news had some people dismayed and others worried, understandably so.
After all, the option to keep memories in a personal database may sound counterintuitive to those who love the app precisely because the Snaps disappear.
Snapchat Memories Is Your Personal Easy-To-Search Archive
The new section is, in a way, akin to a timeline. On Memories, people can pull different Snaps together (even ones from the past) and create a fresh Story.
As all archives go, the timeline makes sure those otherwise fleeting memories of a great vacation, awesome night out with friends, or quiet afternoon stroll in the summer aren't lost forever.
This bank of old Snaps and Stories is also easily searchable for the account owner, since it only requires certain keywords to yield favorite entries. Users won't have to keep scrolling too far to be able to appreciate these ephemeral moments once again.
"It's a personal collection of your favorite moments that lives below the Camera screen," Snapchat says. The archive can be accessed just by swiping up from the Camera.
Snapchat Offers 'My Eyes Only' Privacy Setting
Who exactly has access to these precious shots? Snapchat may have had this in mind when the team developed the section.
Account owners have the option to keep certain Snaps out of other people's sight. The "My Eyes Only" privacy setting does exactly that: save the items only for you. This way, Snapchat says, friends and family don't have easy access to "awkward" memories, even with the collection in place.
But, in case users do want to keep sharing old memories with a wider audience, Snapchat will place a special frame around older Snaps (taken more than 24 hours before posting) to indicate it's a blast from the past.
Does Snapchat Store Snaps On The Camera Roll?
Snapchat is quick to point out that it never saves the photos and videos found in a person's Camera Roll.
"Unless you use one to make a new Story or add it to My Eyes Only," the team says. "In that case, we’ll back up only the photo or video that you used."
Leaks in the past have caused some speculation over data security on the app, and whether Snapchat itself has the ability to access content from accounts.
In 2014, for instance, the leak dubbed "Snappening," which exposed thousands of photos and videos posted through Snapchat, was due to the hacking of a third-party website called Snapsaved.com. The site was reportedly storing users' photos and videos, along with their Snapchat login credentials.
Only Snapchat Memories will be backed up by Snapchat, with a guarantee that Snaps and Stories remain secure. The new section will roll out next month.
