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One hurdle for me (at least) is the lack of export/import/backup. I got a new phone recently and discovered that there was no way to restore message conversatio

by Y-bar 10y ago

One hurdle for me (at least) is the lack of export/import/backup. I got a new phone recently and discovered that there was no way to restore message conversations onto the new phone. This might not be a deal-breaker for some, maybe even a very nice feature for some, but for me it made me go back to other services. Github issue: https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-iOS/issues/967 https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-iOS/issues/967

rosshays 10y ago
The lack of some good history mechanism is what has always kept me away from this kind of software. But I don't know how we could possibly get the kind of messenger I would dream of (secure/encrypted, history backup to cloud, and web app for messaging).
h4waii 10y ago
Just to clarify, this is iOS only. On Android, the client can export plaintext messages to storage, or you can use something like Titanium Backup, which wraps up the app installer AND data directories in a tarball and can restore it across other many different versions of Android.
moyta 10y ago
At one point Signal had working backup & restore on Android, whereby you could keep your private keys and seamlessly move between phones, but they did away with that since a few users encountered bugs. I really wish they hadn't axed it, it was a lot easier to use it than do an adb backup of the app & data. Looking at that GitHub issue, Moxie appears to have popped in for half a second out of annoyance, then the main repo maintainer michaelkirk went and locked & limited the issue to just contributors.
- lorenzhs 10y ago
  The problem with backup & restore in Android was that it didn't work reliably. I know first-hand. If the feature isn't there, people won't rely on it, as they may do when it's there but doesn't work. The thing with locking issues is that Signal issues get so much noise that the content will drown in it. I dislike not being able to add on-topic comments, too, but I understand how they got where they are.
  - Y-bar 10y ago
    I'm ignorant on how backups works on Android, but I have never met an iOS app where data has not been properly backed up and restored. Supposedly this works fine: https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/iPhone/Conceptual/iPhoneOSProgrammingGuide/PerformanceTips/PerformanceTips.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40007072-CH7-SW17 https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/iP...
    - lorenzhs 10y ago
      It was a feature in the app to export an encrypted backup to external storage (encrypted with a passphrase of your choice), independent of OS-provided functions. It basically serialised and unserialised its own database.

by Y-bar 10y ago

rosshays 10y ago

The lack of some good history mechanism is what has always kept me away from this kind of software. But I don't know how we could possibly get the kind of messenger I would dream of (secure/encrypted, history backup to cloud, and web app for messaging).

h4waii 10y ago

Just to clarify, this is iOS only. On Android, the client can export plaintext messages to storage, or you can use something like Titanium Backup, which wraps up the app installer AND data directories in a tarball and can restore it across other many different versions of Android.

moyta 10y ago

At one point Signal had working backup & restore on Android, whereby you could keep your private keys and seamlessly move between phones, but they did away with that since a few users encountered bugs. I really wish they hadn't axed it, it was a lot easier to use it than do an adb backup of the app & data. Looking at that GitHub issue, Moxie appears to have popped in for half a second out of annoyance, then the main repo maintainer michaelkirk went and locked & limited the issue to just contributors.

lorenzhs 10y ago
The problem with backup & restore in Android was that it didn't work reliably. I know first-hand. If the feature isn't there, people won't rely on it, as they may do when it's there but doesn't work. The thing with locking issues is that Signal issues get so much noise that the content will drown in it. I dislike not being able to add on-topic comments, too, but I understand how they got where they are.
- Y-bar 10y ago
  I'm ignorant on how backups works on Android, but I have never met an iOS app where data has not been properly backed up and restored. Supposedly this works fine: https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/iPhone/Conceptual/iPhoneOSProgrammingGuide/PerformanceTips/PerformanceTips.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40007072-CH7-SW17 https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/iP...
  - lorenzhs 10y ago
    It was a feature in the app to export an encrypted backup to external storage (encrypted with a passphrase of your choice), independent of OS-provided functions. It basically serialised and unserialised its own database.