One thing I'd like to know about any messaging platform is how easy it is to export my messages for backup purposes. Signal, for example, seems to be designed

One thing I'd like to know about any messaging platform is how easy it is to export my messages for backup purposes. Signal, for example, seems to be designed to store messages only on a single active device, which is normally a mobile device. Lose access to your device, perhaps to theft, maybe to accidental damage or hardware failure, and you lose all your messages. I'm all for privacy, but security matters too, and that includes being able to keep safe copies of my own data on my own terms. With things like emails, or even mobile SMS messages, there are tools widely available to do this, and I can export my data and have it encrypted locally and then stored safely off-site. Too many new messaging systems seem to be fighting against this for various reasons, and I don't think it's a healthy trend.