Is the upload process different in terms of privacy if a user uploads from camera roll to my eyes only on Snapchat versus going from camera roll to memories to my eyes only

1. How Snapchat describes My Eyes Only and Memories

Snapchat presents Memories as a cloud‑backed, searchable archive that “keeps Memories backed up online” and that it adds app features and personalization to content saved there, while My Eyes Only is described as a password‑protected, encrypted space for extra private Snaps ^{[1] [2]}. Those product pages state the design goals: Memories for convenient backup and reuse, My Eyes Only for stronger local privacy control ^{[1] [2]}.

2. What the official help articles say about workflows

Snapchat’s support documentation explicitly explains two routes: after saving Snaps or Stories to Memories, users can move them to My Eyes Only, and users can also move photos and videos from the device’s Camera Roll directly to My Eyes Only ^[3]. The guide further warns users to ensure Memories are completely backed up before logging out or switching devices, underlining that Memories undergo cloud backup ^[4].

3. The privacy implication that follows from Snapchat’s wording

Because Snapchat repeatedly phrases Memories as backed up online and used for search and personalization, content placed into Memories is explicitly treated as cloud‑stored and therefore may be subject to server‑side processing and backup prior to any later local locking ^{[1] [2]}. That creates a plausible privacy distinction: putting an item into Memories first makes it part of that cloud lifecycle, whereas the promise to move Camera Roll items “to My Eyes Only” suggests a potentially more direct route into the encrypted area without the same searchable cloud lifecycle — but Snapchat’s documentation does not clearly state the backend sequence or whether the Camera Roll → My Eyes Only action still routes through the Memories cloud layer ^{[3] [1]}.

4. Practical read: same end, uncertain transit

The end state is unambiguous in Snapchat’s own materials: once in My Eyes Only the snap is meant to be encrypted and shielded behind a passcode ^{[1] [2]}. The uncertain part is transit: the company describes Memories as cloud‑backed while also offering a direct Camera Roll import option to My Eyes Only, and the documentation stops short of definitively explaining whether that direct import avoids cloud backup or any server‑side processing ^{[3] [4]}.

5. What this means for a cautious user and what is not confirmed

Users who need the strictest assurance should assume the conservative interpretation that content touched by Memories can be backed up or processed on Snapchat’s servers ^{[1] [2] [4]}; the support pages do not provide a clear, auditable statement that Camera Roll → My Eyes Only never leaves the device, so it is not possible from these sources to categorically state that one route is entirely more private in transit than the other ^{[3] [1]}. Snapchat’s product messaging favors Memories as the feature for cloud convenience and My Eyes Only for extra privacy, which serves both product and business goals by encouraging use of its cloud while offering a branded privacy control ^{[1] [2]}.

6. Bottom line (direct answer)

Both routes—Camera Roll → My Eyes Only and Camera Roll → Memories → My Eyes Only—terminate with content placed in My Eyes Only and therefore protected by the same password/encryption claims from Snapchat ^{[1] [2] [3]}. The key difference that can matter in practice is whether the intermediary Memories step subjects the media to cloud backup and app‑level processing before it is locked; Snapchat’s public documentation confirms Memories is cloud‑backed but does not clearly disclose whether a direct Camera Roll → My Eyes Only move bypasses that cloud step, so the potential transit privacy difference cannot be fully verified from the available sources ^{[1] [3] [4]}.