Secure Signal Backups
Secure backups let you save an archive of your Signal conversations in a privacy-preserving form, refreshed every day; giving you the ability to restore your chats even if you lose access to your phone. Signal’s secure backups are opt-in and, of course, end-to-end encrypted. So if you don’t want to create a secure backup archive of your Signal messages and media, you never have to use the feature.
If you do decide to opt in to secure backups, you’ll be able to securely back up all of your text messages and the last 45 days’ worth of media for free.
If you want to back up your media history beyond 45 days, as well as your message history, we also offer a paid subscription plan for US$1.99 per month.
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At the core of secure backups is a 64-character recovery key that is generated on your device. This key is yours and yours alone; it is never shared with Signal’s servers.
Secure backups first came to Android in September. Signal says it plans to bring secure backups to its desktop app, and its longer term goal is to allow users to transfer message history between Android, iPhone, and desktop apps.
Dan Goodin (Signal, Hacker News):
One exception to the industry-wide lethargy is the engineering team that designs the Signal Protocol, the open source engine that powers the world’s most robust and resilient form of end-to-end encryption for multiple private chat apps, most notably the Signal Messenger. Eleven days ago, the nonprofit entity that develops the protocol, Signal Messenger LLC, published a 5,900-word write-up describing its latest updates that bring Signal a significant step toward being fully quantum-resistant.
It is impressive that Signal is ahead of the curve on post-quantum computing. But speaking as someone who is currently switching between multiple phones regularly, they need to get their shit together on basic stuff like using more than one phone with the same Signal account, and making it take just a minute or less to switch your primary Signal phone from one device to another. Right now it takes me over 30 minutes to switch Signal from one phone to another, and I’m not a particularly heavy user of the app.
Previously:
- US Officials Recommend Encrypted Messaging Apps
- iMessage With PQ3
- Advanced Data Protection for iCloud
- WhatsApp More Private Than iMessage
2 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
All messaging should be ephemeral. On Signal everything auto-deletes after 1 week. Important details are deliberately saved or acted upon in the moment.
Backups, as secure as they might be, stray from the goal of minimizing footprint.
As good as their engineering is, they make some questionable choices. Still not happy with them for their practice for so many years of spamming everyone in your contacts about you being on Signal if you make the mistake of giving them contacts access. After years of dismissing the issue they finally quit doing it.
Privacy and growth hacking don’t mix. Maybe they’ve stopped now but it’s hurt their credibility.
