Why are Snapchat captions and stickers in a separate overlay file?
Pick your ZIPs and the tool sorts your Memories into a folder on this phone.
No export yet? The 4-step guide
Updated November 8, 2026 · Not affiliated with Snapchat.
By GetMemoriesOut. We wrote these guides from a real Snapchat export that we opened and counted, with Memories from 2016 to 2026. When something couldn't be checked, the guide says so.
Put them back in 2 steps
- Request your export and download every ZIP. The export guide shows how.
- Drop the ZIPs into GetMemoriesOut. The captions and stickers are laid back on your JPEG photos.
The recap is free, and so are 500 Memories, taken across all your years. The rest costs €9.90, once.The recap is free, and so are 500 Memories, taken across all your years. The rest costs $9.99, once.
Where the text and stickers are
For every decorated Memory, the export holds two files: -main, the original photo or video, and -overlay.png, a transparent image carrying the text, stickers and drawing.
Opened alone, the photo shows without them. The ZIP guide covers the other files.
Putting them back by hand
Lay the overlay on top of the photo, at the same size, then save the result. A photo editor with layers can do it, one image at a time.
For a video you need a video editor that lays the transparent image over the whole clip. Fine for a few Memories, much less for hundreds.
What the tool does, file by file
- JPEG photos: the overlay is merged into the photo. You get the image as it looked in the app, at its date.
- Videos: the overlay is copied next to the video, with -calque in the name. It isn't burned into the video.
- Other image formats: the overlay is copied next to the file too.
- Unreadable overlay: the photo is kept without it, and the tool tells you at the end.
FAQ
- Why are Snapchat captions and stickers in a separate overlay file?
- The export gives each decorated Memory as two files: the original image with nothing on it, and a transparent overlay with the text, stickers and drawing. Your camera roll opens the image on its own.
- Why did my Snapchat Memories lose their text?
- It's in a second file of the same Memory, a transparent overlay kept next to the original image. Lay the overlay back on the photo to see it as it looked in the app.
- Does every Memory have an overlay?
- No, only the ones you decorated. In the one export we measured, from early October 2026, about 1 Memory in 7 had one.
- Does GetMemoriesOut put captions back on videos?
- No. It merges them into JPEG photos. For a video, it copies the overlay next to the file without burning it in.
- Do I need to unzip the files to find the overlays?
- To look at them, yes. For GetMemoriesOut, no: drop the ZIPs as they are.