Warning: Snapchat will start charging for your memories, here's how to avoid losing them

Snapchat users are in for an unpleasant surprise: the app will soon charge to view memories. People with more than 5GB of memories will soon have to pay to keep them. Don't want your old photos and videos to disappear behind a paywall? Then make a backup quickly. Metro explains how.

The photos and videos you take in Snapchat are called Memories, and you can look back on them whenever you want. Currently, you can still view these Memories for free, but people with more than 5GB of Memories will soon have to pay a monthly fee to access their photos and videos. They can choose from several subscription plans. "Switching from a free service to a paid one is never easy, but we hope the value of Memories justifies the cost," Snapchat said in a press release.

The news has caused quite a stir on social media: many people are angry because they have years of memories stored in the app, which they will soon lose if they don't pay for them. It's unknown how much the new subscriptions will cost, but Snapchat has announced that everyone will still have one year of free storage.

Anyone who wants to protect their photos and videos is well-advised to back them up. You can easily do this as follows:

• Open Snapchat on your phone.
• Go to the camera and click on your profile, top left of the screen.
• Open 'Settings' by clicking the gear icon at the top right.
• Then scroll down and go to 'App and Privacy' and then to 'My privacy and data'.
• Click on 'My details'.
• Turn on the switch next to "Export your Memories, Chat Media, and Shared Stories."
• Under 'Package size', select '10 GB'.
• Also, turn on the switch behind 'Memories and other media';
• Tap 'Next' and choose a date range, then select 'All time' to save all Memories;
• Please check your email address and finally click 'Send'.

Snapchat recently received negative press: the app allegedly facilitated illegal vape sales to young people. Read more about it here .