Snapchat's New Terms of Service (2026): What Actually Changed

This page is about the document, not the date. If what you want to know is what happens to your account on September 21, that question is answered here: what's happening to Snapchat on September 21. This page reads the Terms themselves, clause by clause, against the version they replace.

Direct answer: Snapchat's updated Terms of Service take effect on September 21, 2026. They do not set a date for deleting Memories, they do not announce a ban or a shutdown, and they contain no section about biometrics. The Memories clause is word for word the same as the version that has been in force since April 7, 2025. The 5 GB storage policy and its roughly twelve-month grace window come from a separate announcement made on September 26, 2025, not from these Terms.

We read the full document at snap.com/terms and compared the sections that matter against the prior version Snap still links to. Everything quoted below is verbatim.

This is a plain-language reading of a public document, not legal advice. We quote the Terms and paraphrase carefully. If you need to know how a clause applies to you, ask a lawyer, not a blog.

Which document takes effect, and what it replaces

A new version of Snap's Terms of Service replaces the current one. The notice at the top of snap.com/terms reads:

"We've updated our Terms of Service, effective September 21, 2026. You can view the prior Terms of Service, which apply to all users until September 21, 2026, here."

The "here" links to snap.com/terms-04-07-2025, the version dated April 7, 2025. The new document is headed "Snap Inc. Terms of Service — Effective: September 21, 2026." Snap's Privacy Policy is being updated on the same date.

In practice, that means you will see an "Agree and continue" screen in the app on or around that day, the same way you have for every previous update. Tapping it accepts the new Terms. That is the whole event. (If you're here because a different pop-up worried you — the one about storage — that's this one, and it's the one that actually concerns your Memories.)

What actually changed in the Terms?

Here is the honest answer: less than the videos suggest. Snap has not published a redline or a "summary of changes," so we cannot list every wording tweak. What we can do is compare the sections people are worried about, side by side with the April 2025 version.

Section 12, "Memories": unchanged. The full section in the September 2026 Terms reads:

"Memories is our personalized data-storage service. Your content in Memories might become unavailable for any number of reasons, including things like an operational glitch or a decision on our end to terminate your account. Since we can't promise that your content will always be available, we recommend keeping a separate copy of content you save to Memories. We make no promise that Memories will be able to accommodate your precise storage needs. We reserve the right to set storage limits for Memories, or to prohibit certain types of content from being eligible for use with Memories, and we may change these limits and prohibitions from time to time in our sole discretion."

The April 7, 2025 version contains the identical paragraph. The right to "set storage limits for Memories" has been in the Terms since before the 5 GB policy was announced. It is the legal basis for that policy, not a new threat.

Section 6, "AI Features": same opening. Both versions begin:

"Our Services include AI-enabled features ("AI Features") that use inputs like text, images, audio files, videos, documents, data, or other content provided by you or used at your direction ("Inputs") to generate content and responses based on those Inputs ("Outputs")."

The section goes on to say that Inputs and Outputs are treated as content you submit to the Services, with the same licences described under "Rights You Grant Us." If you use My AI or generative features, this is the clause that covers what you type or upload into them. It was already there in 2025.

Section 20, "Arbitration, Class-Action Waiver and Jury Waiver": same opening. Both versions begin, in capitals:

"PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS CAREFULLY BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE THAT YOU AND SNAP AGREE TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN US THROUGH BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND INCLUDE A CLASS ACTION WAIVER AND JURY TRIAL WAIVER."

The September 2026 text adds: "This Arbitration Agreement supersedes all prior versions." Arbitration clauses are standard in US consumer apps and this one is not new to Snapchat.

Structure: identical. Both documents have the same 26 numbered sections in the same order, from "Who Can Use the Services" to "Contact Us." Nothing was added, nothing was removed at the section level.

So when someone says "the new Terms let Snapchat delete your Memories," the accurate version is: the Terms have said for years that Memories are not guaranteed and that Snap can set storage limits. September 21 does not change that sentence.

What is NOT in the new Terms

Because the rumors are specific, we checked for specific things.

No deletion date. The words "September 21" appear only in the effective-date notice. There is no sentence saying Memories will be deleted on that day or any other day. The 5 GB policy is not described in the Terms at all.
No "biometric" section. The word "biometric" does not appear anywhere in the document, and neither does "facial recognition." An old, unrelated rumor about Snapchat building a face database resurfaces every year; it has nothing to do with this update, and we are not going to speculate about clauses that do not exist.
No ban, shutdown or account purge. Section 15 ("Modifying the Services and These Terms") does say Snap "may add or remove features, products, or functionalities, and we may also suspend or stop the Services altogether." That is the same boilerplate as in 2025 and in most apps' Terms; it is not an announcement.
No new age rule. Section 1 still says the Services "are not directed to children under the age of 13 or those below the applicable minimum age" in your region.

What this means for your Memories

Nothing changes on September 21 for the photos and videos in your Memories. What matters for them is a different date and a different document.

On September 26, 2025, Snap's newsroom announced the 5 GB free storage limit and said it would "provide 12 months of temporary Memories storage for any Memories that exceed the 5GB storage limit." Twelve months from that announcement lands around the end of September 2026. Snap has not published an exact purge date, a warning schedule, or which Memories go first. The only hard number in the help center is for paying subscribers: after cancelling a storage plan, "you'll have 48 hours to resubscribe before over-limit Memories are affected."

So the real question is not "what happens on the 21st" but "am I over 5 GB, and do I have a copy of my Memories that is not Snapchat?" Our Memories deadline explainer covers the timeline and the full dated timeline has every sourced step since the announcement. If something has already gone missing, start with Snapchat deleted my Memories; if you deleted a Snap yourself and want it back, the honest answer is in is a deleted Memory gone forever?.

And note the sentence Snap itself put in section 12, in both the old and new Terms: "we recommend keeping a separate copy of content you save to Memories." That is the company telling you, in its own contract, not to rely on it as your only backup.

The rumors, one by one

We covered the origin of the "September 21" story in our earlier fact-check. Here is the short version for each claim currently circulating on TikTok and YouTube.

"Snapchat is deleting all Memories on September 21." False. September 21 is the Terms effective date. The Terms do not mention a deletion, and the 5 GB policy's twelve-month window is tied to September 26, 2025, with no published purge date. Some export tools even advertise "September 1, 2026" as the deadline; that date appears in no Snap document either.

"If you don't tap Agree by the 21st, your account is banned." Not what the document says. Section 16 says you can end the agreement "by deleting your Snapchat account" if you do not agree with changes. You will be asked to accept the new Terms to keep using the app, which is how every Terms update works. There is no published cut-off date for tapping the button and no "ban" language.

"Snapchat is shutting down in September." Nothing in the Terms, the Privacy Policy, or Snap's newsroom says this. The "suspend or stop the Services" sentence in section 15 is standard reservation-of-rights language that was already in the 2025 Terms.

"The new Terms add biometric data collection." The word does not appear in the document. See above.

"Snapchat will own your photos after you agree." Section 2, "Rights You Grant Us," has existed for years and grants Snap a licence to host and display the content you submit so the app can function. Whether you find that licence too broad is a fair debate, but it is not new on September 21, and the Memories section explicitly says Snap does not promise to keep your content available, which is the opposite of claiming it.

What to do before September 21

Honestly, the date itself needs nothing from you beyond reading the pop-up before tapping Agree. But since you are here, and since the 5 GB window closes a few days later, this is a sensible week to do the thing Snap's own Terms recommend.

Check your storage. Open Memories, tap settings, look for the storage indicator or a "Low Storage" banner. Under 5 GB, you are not affected by the storage policy right now. Over it, keep going.
Request your data. Settings → My Data → include Memories. Snap emails a download link; big libraries arrive in several ZIP files. Our step-by-step guide covers each screen, and the complete download guide covers the whole flow end to end — including what the ZIP gets wrong.
Keep the ZIPs off your phone. A computer, an external drive or a cloud folder. That is the "separate copy" the Terms talk about. If the export never arrives or won't open, the fixes are here.
Read the pop-up on the 21st, then decide. You can read both versions today at snap.com/terms and snap.com/terms-04-07-2025.

If you want to look at what is inside those ZIPs, Still Mine is our tool: it opens your Snapchat export in the browser, on your device, and shows everything in a gallery with a year-by-year Long Story, for free. Exporting a clean, organised copy costs €4.99, once, no subscription. It does not touch your Snapchat account and it cannot get back anything Snap has already deleted; nothing can.

FAQ

Do Snapchat's new Terms of Service delete my Memories on September 21, 2026?

No. September 21, 2026 is the effective date of the updated Terms of Service. The document sets no deletion date. The Memories section is identical to the April 2025 version and says Snap can set storage limits, which it has done since September 2025. The twelve-month grace window for over-limit Memories runs to roughly late September 2026.

Is Snapchat banning accounts that don't accept the new Terms?

The Terms contain no ban language or cut-off date. You will be asked to accept the new version to keep using the app, as with every previous update. Section 16 says you may end the agreement by deleting your account if you disagree with the changes. Nothing else is stated.

Do the new Snapchat Terms include biometric data collection?

The word "biometric" does not appear in the September 21, 2026 Terms of Service, and neither does "facial recognition." The 26 section headings are the same as the April 7, 2025 version. Claims about a new biometrics clause are not supported by the published document.

What actually changed between the April 2025 and September 2026 Terms?

Snap has not published a summary of changes. Comparing the two documents, the section structure is identical, the Memories section is word for word the same, and the AI Features and arbitration sections open with the same text. The arbitration section now adds that it "supersedes all prior versions."

Is September 21 the Snapchat Memories deadline?

No. The Memories storage policy comes from Snap's newsroom post of September 26, 2025, which promised twelve months of temporary storage for Memories over 5 GB. That window ends around late September 2026. Snap has not published a specific purge date. The Terms of Service update is unrelated.

Should I export my Memories before September 21?

The Terms update itself does not require it. But if you are over 5 GB, the storage grace window closes within days of that date, and Snap's own Terms recommend "keeping a separate copy of content you save to Memories." Requesting a My Data export now is the calm, no-regrets option.

Still Mine is our tool. It reads your Snapchat My Data export on your own device, in your browser, lets you browse your Memories for free, and exports a clean copy for €4.99, paid once. We are not affiliated with Snap Inc.

Sources: Snap Inc. Terms of Service, effective September 21, 2026; prior Terms of Service, effective April 7, 2025; Snap Privacy Policy; Snap Newsroom, "Memories Storage Plans", September 26, 2025; Snap help center, "How do I manage my Memories storage?". All read on August 31, 2026. This article is a plain-language reading of a public document, not legal advice.