Snapchat has officially launched its 2025 personalized Recap feature, offering users a short, auto-generated video highlighting their year on the app, from Snaps and Stories to top Chats. The launch follows a popular end-of-year trend across platforms like Spotify and Instagram but comes as the social media company faces user criticism over upcoming paid storage limits in Memories.
The Recap, accessible within the Memories section of the app, compiles personalized moments to reflect how users communicated and expressed themselves throughout the year. Snapchat shared new engagement data alongside the rollout, noting that daily voice and video call usage grew by nearly 30% year-over-year, reaching nearly 1.7 billion minutes per day on average.
As per the record, just in the U.S., users sent over 5 billion voice notes in 2025, which is also nearly 10% more than the year before. It turns out that hearing a friend's voice is still one of the best ways to feel connected.
Key Engagement Insights for 2025:
- U.S. users sent over 5 billion voice notes, a nearly 10% increase from 2024.
- Group chat messaging grew by more than 5%, with some users sending upwards of 8,800 messages to their top group.
- Chat Reactions surged by 44%, with the ❤️ emoji remaining the most popular.
- Sticker usage also saw a notable rise, with three million more people using them this year.
However, the launch has been met with mixed reactions from the Snapchat community, as it coincides with the company’s recent announcement to limit free storage in Memories starting in 2026. Currently, users enjoy unlimited free storage for saved Snaps and Stories. Under the new policy, free access will be capped at 5GB. Beyond that limit, users must subscribe to one of Snapchat’s new paid storage plans:
- Intro Plan: 100GB for $1.99/month
- Snapchat+ Tier: 250GB included in the $3.99/month subscription
- Snapchat Platinum: 5TB for $15.99/month
Snapchat announced in September that it will soon limit free storage for Memories to 5GB. Users who save more than that will have to purchase a monthly storage subscription.
While end-of-year recaps have become a widely anticipated digital tradition, offering nostalgic value and shareable content, Snapchat’s move underscores a broader shift among tech companies toward subscription-based revenue models, even for features once offered for free.
For now, users can enjoy their 2025 Recap at no cost. But as the new year approaches, many will have to decide whether to pare down their digital memories or start paying to preserve them.
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