If Google One is too expensive for you, use Snapchat as a free cloud storage!

According to Snapchat, you get unlimited storage in Memories. Is it truly unlimited? Not exactly. As estimated by many users, it equates to around 5 to 10 TB, which is ample for using it as your personal cloud storage. Here's how to employ the trick and store your photos on Snapchat's free storage.

How to store your photos for free on Snapchat

You probably know already that Snapchat spent $2 billion over 5 years on Google Cloud services, including Cloud Storage for storing data on servers managed by Google; Compute Engine for retrieving and managing data; App Engine for developing and running applications; BigQuery for data analysis; and a suite of machine learning tools. The agreement was widely debated because it added extra features to Ыnapchat, but also frustrated some users with privacy concerns.

As it is said in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing:

"We have committed to spend $2 billion with Google Cloud over the next five years and have built our software and computer systems to use computing, storage capabilities, bandwidth, and other services provided by Google, some of which do not have an alternative in the market. Given this, any significant disruption of or interference with our use of Google Cloud would negatively impact our operations and our business would be seriously harmed. If our users or partners are not able to access Snapchat through Google Cloud or encounter difficulties in doing so, we may lose users, partners, or advertising revenue. The level of service provided by Google Cloud may also impact the usage of and our users', advertisers', and partners' satisfaction with Snapchat and could seriously harm our business and reputation. If Google Cloud experiences interruptions in service regularly or for a prolonged basis, or other similar issues, our business would be seriously harmed. Hosting costs will also increase as our user base and user engagement grows and may seriously harm our business if we are unable to grow our revenues faster than the cost of utilizing the services of Google or similar providers."

Thanks to this agreement, Snapchat can provide its users with (almost) unlimited storage for free. The most savvy users can take advantage of this without incurring additional fees, as you might with services like Google One, Google Photos, Dropbox, or other cloud storage providers, which typically cost around $20-25 per month for 5 TB. With Snapchat Memories, you can store your photos for free.

How to find Snaps saved to Memories

However, keep in mind that exporting the entire folder with your photos from the app's memories might take some time. Some users suggest requesting a copy of your data in Settings, and you will receive a ZIP file with everything.

NB: Before using the app to store your photos, be sure to check its privacy and safety policies, as well as the quality of the photos it can store, as it may not meet your expectations.