The slow death of Snapchat – The Cougar

There was a time when Snapchat was the best platform to communicate with people. Users post 10-second stories using filters, locations and mentions, capturing moments as they happened rather than curating them. 

The platform also thrived on spontaneity. If you messaged someone and didn’t save the chat, it would disappear. Conversations felt private and everything was about the now. People had streaks that reached the thousands and the fear of screenshotting a message on Snapchat was and still is a genuine concern for many users. 

The simplicity that once defined the app was replaced by clutter, ads and features that few users asked for. As social media evolved, Snapchat tried to grow with it. Updates included private stories, location sharing and the ability to add music to a snap. 

Instead of letting Snapchat fade into the background, users should take a moment to decide what role, if any, the app plays in their lives. Whether that means backing up memories, turning off notifications or finally deleting the app, being intentional matters. Social media apps shouldn’t linger on our phones just because. 

Snapchat’s identity crisis

In 2018, The Verge reported that some users stopped using Snapchat after a redesign made the app harder to navigate, disrupting established user habits and making it difficult to find desired content. 

Now, for many users, Snapchat just sits there. 

I drifted away from the app this semester. I stopped using it once I realized I never used the app with intention. Days pass without tapping the icon. When I do open it, I do so only to keep the few streaks I had left, then close it again.

The app no longer feels essential in the way that it once did. Instagram stories offer longer videos, better editing and a broader reach. TikTok has become the go-to platform for creativity and entertainment. Texting and iMessage feel more reliable and intentional. 

Snapchat, once a leader in communication, has fallen into an awkward middle ground – not quite messaging, not quite social media. Yet many users haven’t deleted the app. Instead, they keep it for one reason: memories.

The cost of memories

Snapchat Memories, introduced in July 2016, allowed users to save their “Snaps” in a private folder, rather than having them disappear after 24 hours.

But according to Snapchat Support, holding onto these memories will come at a cost. 

Snapchat is now limiting how much content users can save before prompting them to upgrade to Snapchat+. The subscription, which ranges from $1.49 to $14.99 a month, offers features such as extended storage, custom app icons and zero ads. While the price may seem small, it reflects a larger trend: platforms monetizing nostalgia. 

What once felt like a free space to exist and share memories with friends now quietly charges users to preserve their past.

For many, deleting Snapchat isn’t an option. Doing so risks losing years of photos that were never backed up elsewhere. The app becomes less of a social tool and more of a storage unit – one that users pay for emotionally and financially. 

Every monthly fee reinforces the idea that memories are something to be maintained, managed and protected behind a paywall. This creates an uncomfortable tension. Snapchat was built on impermanence, yet it now profits from permanence. 

When Snapchat stopped being Snapchat

The very feature that made the app unique – disappearing content – has been replaced by the pressure to record and save everything. Users are no longer living in the moment; they are archiving it.

There is also an emotional cost. Opening memories can feel like stepping into a time capsule. Old friends, ended relationships and forgotten places resurface unexpectedly. 

While nostalgia can be comforting, it can also be painful. Snapchat’s “1 Year Ago, Today” reminders often bring back memories users did not ask to relive. Still, those memories remain, quietly stored and challenging to let go of.

I have thought about deleting my account more than once. But every time, I think about the photos saved there – pictures with people who have passed, dorm room pictures, moments I never downloaded anywhere else.

 I downloaded Snapchat in 2016. Deleting the app would mean losing pieces of my life I didn’t realize I’d stored in one place.

Snapchat has not entirely died – but it has changed. It’s no longer the app that people rush to open when something exciting happens. Instead, it lingers on phones, occupying space. 

Charging users to keep their memories revealed how social media has shifted from a platform for connection to a platform for collection. Snapchat once promised moments that would disappear. Now, it asks users to pay to remember them.

For many, that is why it still sits there – unopened, unused but impossible to delete.

opinion@thedailycougar.com