Tutorial
How to Save Your "My Eyes Only" Snapchat Memories Before They're Gone
If you've been using Snapchat's My Eyes Only feature, this guide is critical reading before you do anything else.
My Eyes Only is Snapchat's password-protected private vault — a hidden section of your Memories where you can store photos and videos behind a separate passcode. It's designed so that even if someone has your phone, they can't access what's in there without the code.
That privacy feature, however, creates a specific problem when it comes to the October 2026 deadline: My Eyes Only memories are not included in the standard Snapchat data export. If you request your data right now without doing anything first, everything locked in your vault will be left behind.
This guide shows you exactly what to do.
First: try your passcode right now
Before anything else, open Snapchat, go to Memories, tap the My Eyes Only tab, and try your passcode.
This matters because Snap cannot reset or recover a forgotten My Eyes Only passcode. There is no "forgot passcode" option. No support ticket will help. If you forget the code, you permanently lose access to whatever is stored in there.
If you remember your passcode, great — continue with this guide. If you've forgotten it, unfortunately those memories are not retrievable. Do not wait to find out.
What you'll need
- Snapchat installed on your phone
- Your My Eyes Only passcode
- A few minutes — longer if you have a large vault
Step-by-step: moving memories out of My Eyes Only
The process is the same on iPhone and Android.
Step 1: Open Memories
Open Snapchat and tap the Memories icon — it's the small card/stack icon at the bottom of the camera screen, just below the shutter button.
Step 2: Go to My Eyes Only
At the top of the Memories screen, you'll see tabs. Tap My Eyes Only.
Step 3: Enter your passcode
Snapchat will prompt you for your passcode. Enter it. If you use Face ID or Touch ID to access My Eyes Only, authenticate normally.
You should now see a grid of everything stored in your private vault.
Step 4: Move memories back to regular Memories
This is the key step. You need to move your memories out of the vault so they'll be included in your data export.
To move individual memories:
- Long-press (press and hold) on a memory until a checkmark appears
- Tap additional memories to select as many as you want
- Tap the Share/Export icon (usually at the bottom left or bottom of the screen)
- Look for the option that says Remove from My Eyes Only or Move to Memories
- Confirm when prompted
To move everything at once (if the option is available): Some versions of Snapchat allow you to select all — look for a Select All option after long-pressing the first item. If you have a large vault, this will save a lot of time.
Step 5: Confirm they've moved
After moving memories out of My Eyes Only, go back to the main Memories tab (not My Eyes Only) and verify that your photos and videos are now visible there.
They should now appear alongside your other Memories and will be included when you request your data export.
Important things to know
Moving memories out of My Eyes Only doesn't delete them. They simply move back to your regular Memories, where they're visible to anyone who can access your Snapchat app. Keep this in mind if privacy is a concern — you may want to do the export quickly after moving them.
You can move them back afterwards. Once you've completed the export and saved your archive with SnapEasy, you can move the memories back into My Eyes Only if you want to keep using Snapchat. The export process doesn't affect the originals in the app.
The vault is device-bound in some ways. If you're having trouble accessing My Eyes Only on one device, try on the device you originally set up the vault on.
Passcode ≠ Snapchat password. Your My Eyes Only passcode is separate from your Snapchat login password. They're different things. Make sure you're entering the right one.
What if I forgot my passcode?
This is the hard truth: there is no way to recover a forgotten My Eyes Only passcode. Snapchat designed the feature with no backdoor — not even Snap's support team can retrieve it.
If you've forgotten your code, the memories locked inside cannot be recovered by anyone. This is a painful reality that catches many people off guard, especially for accounts that haven't been opened in a year or more.
If you think you might remember it, try it now. Common choices people use for these kinds of secondary codes include birthdays, repeating numbers, or PIN numbers from old cards. But this is a decision only you can make — and the window to try is before October 2026.
After moving your memories: request your export
Once everything is out of My Eyes Only and visible in regular Memories, you're ready to request your Snapchat data export. Follow the complete process in our main guide:
How to download your Snapchat Memories and save them forever →
The short version:
- Go to Snapchat Settings → My Data
- Select Memories and submit your request
- Download the ZIP file Snapchat emails you
- Upload it to SnapEasy to get a clean, organized archive with restored dates and GPS data
Frequently asked questions
Does SnapEasy access my My Eyes Only memories directly? No. No tool can access My Eyes Only memories — they are end-to-end encrypted within Snapchat. The only way to export them is to move them into regular Memories first via the steps above, then export through the standard Snapchat data process.
What if My Eyes Only doesn't appear in my Memories? If you never set up My Eyes Only, you won't see the tab or you'll see it but it will be empty. You don't need to do anything in this case — just proceed with your regular export.
Can I export just my My Eyes Only memories and not my regular Memories? No. Snapchat's data export includes all Memories together. Once you move your vault contents to regular Memories, they'll be packaged together in the same export file.
I moved my memories out but they look different — is that normal? Moving memories out of My Eyes Only should not change the files themselves. They should look identical to how they appeared inside the vault.
How long does it take to move a large vault? The actual moving is quick — a second or two per batch. The time-consuming part is the review: deciding what to keep, selecting items, and confirming. For large vaults (hundreds of items), set aside 20–30 minutes.
The bottom line
My Eyes Only adds one extra step to the export process, but it's not complicated — you just need to do it before requesting your data. The risk is forgetting about it and losing whatever's in there when the deadline hits.
Open Snapchat, try your passcode, move your memories out, then request your export.