The Snapchat app displays photos and videos for a maximum of ten seconds. If you want to restore files, it's not that easy.
Snapchat: Restore photos and videos
Snapchat cannot restore lost memories or snaps. The reason: The servers are designed in such a way that snaps that have been deleted are deleted from the server as quickly as possible. But there are ways to get around this – at least up to a certain point.
- You can save any image using a screenshot on both iOS and Android smartphones. The sender will be informed in this case, but cannot do anything about it.
- The free photo/video recovery app “Dumpster” can also help: As soon as the Android app is installed, you can restore all received videos and some photos as well. “Shot Saver” also works for images.
iOS: Recover Snapchat photos and videos
If you are using an Apple device, you can also recover Snapchat photos and videos using third-party apps.
- To do this, download the app “Cydia” from the App Store.
- You can then install the “iFiles” app via Cydia.
- In the directory “var/mobile/applications” you will find numerous folders that are titled with various numbers and letters. You have to randomly find the right folder for Snapchat and then open the folder “tmp”. This is where the latest pictures and videos from Snapchat are located.
How Snapchat works
The fact that snaps are automatically deleted on Snapchat is intentional on the part of the company and is a kind of unique selling point among social media.
- How long you can view your uploaded photos or videos depends on your settings if you are the sender of the files.
- Photos and videos are not saved permanently on Snapchat, but are only “stored” in a cache.
- Therefore, there is no way around using third-party apps to restore files. Important: Clear your cache when you install any of the apps on your device.
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