6 ms·

Great! Now can we have backups so we don´t lose our messages if our phone gets stolen or breaks?

by noja 3y ago

p2004a 3y ago
But there are backups available in signal app
- vinay427 3y ago
  There are no backups available on the iPhone/iPad app, only a device-to-device transfer while setting up a new device assuming your previous device and new device are both iPhones/iPads. This is despite support for apps storing files to the filesystem that was added some years ago now, and many other apps on those platforms supporting backups of custom file formats (or JSON, etc.). https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Backup-and-Restore-Messages#ios_restore https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Ba...
  - yreg 3y ago
    I'm currently facing this issue. The process to transfer the history is to scan a QR code displayed on the new phone by the app on the old phone. Well, the camera on my old iPhone is broken. The phone has 3 other working cameras, but I cannot switch which one the app uses…
ibejoeb 3y ago
Backups have existing for quite some time: settings -> chats -> backups update: only on android. turns out there are quite a few caveats for backup. See https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Backup-and-Restore-Messages https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Ba...
- noja 3y ago
  Nope. Latest version.
  - ibejoeb 3y ago
    Backup functionality was removed in the latest version?
    - CuriousCosmic 3y ago
      No. iOS builds don't support it.
- frereubu 3y ago
  I don't see that option in Settings > Chats on my iPhone. What device are you using?
- vinay427 3y ago
  My cousin comment [1] provides a bit more detail, but this is not available on iOS/iPadOS despite Apple allowing apps to save files to the filesystem and many other apps supporting this for years now. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39445286 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39445286
- bsimpson 3y ago
  I see it, but it just looks like it uses internal storage. So far as I know, there's no Drive File Stream/Dropbox sync for Android, so you'd still lose your shit if you weren't manually backing them up somewhere. I doubt that's a habit many people will develop for a setting they didn't even know existed.
  - MadnessASAP 3y ago
    It's not going to help a casual user but I solved the problem by putting the Signal backup in a Syncthing shared folder. It's been a workable solution at least 2 phone swaps now
    - XorNot 3y ago
      It tries to keep 2 copies and so uses 2x the space on your phone. If you're sending a lot of images and video, then it becomes impractical quickly.
- izacus 3y ago
  Please stop peddling this horrible experience as a form of a valid backup. A process that requires full manual interaction and requires you to know ahead of time when your phone will break or be stolen is not a useful backup process.
  - growse 3y ago
    Eh? My Signal auto-backups every night to a device folder which I then replicate off with Syncthing. How is that requiring "full manual interaction"?
    - freedomben 3y ago
      I think GP is being a little too harsh, but I also think you're being a little too generous. If it requires a third-party tool like sync thing, then it seems like a hard point to argue that signal has Auto backups. It's better than nothing, but it is definitely not as seamless as most users would expect from a backup solution.
      - growse 3y ago
        It doesn't "require" Syncthing, I just choose to use it. I could choose to keep it on my device, or upload it to Dropbox or something else. Even keeping it locally is still a backup that protects against the device corrupting it's local database or accidentally getting uninstalled / cleared. There's no single obvious thing called "this is what everyone wants from backup".
        freedomben 3y ago
        > My Signal auto-backups every night to a device folder which I then replicate off with Syncthing > It doesn't "require" Syncthing I'm talking about your solution, and yes it does seem to require syncthing, unless you are using some fourth party tool that sets up syncthing automatically for you, and in that case it still isn't built in to Signal. There are other possible solutions, but you used your solution as an example. If you have a different solution that doens't require syncthing and also doesn't require manual intervention (i.e. Signal app can automate the process), please share it. Remember what the comment said that we are replying to: > Please stop peddling this horrible experience as a form of a valid backup. A process that requires full manual interaction and requires you to know ahead of time when your phone will break or be stolen is not a useful backup process. Did you not have to manually setup syncthing (or some other sync tool) to get it working? Or do you know of some way to do that with just Signal? Unless you are saying that Signal has a built-in backup solution that doesn't require manual intervention (like configuring some sort of third-party syncing service) then you aren't rebutting anything.
- anigbrowl 3y ago
  They're pretty bad. You can't specify where the backup goes, so if you are running low on storage space (eg if you have a lot of photos or videos to back up) and add an SD card, tough luck because you can't save there. The best you can do is manually export your media (also without any choice over where it goes) and then manually move it to the SD card to make space on your internal storage. They say this is for security but if an attacker is in a position to export your backup, they are already in your signal account. Same story with the PIN signal requires if you haven't used it in a few hours. It's the same as your phone PIN and there isn't anywhere you can change it, so it's just security theater.
  - ThePowerOfFuet 3y ago
    > Same story with the PIN signal requires if you haven't used it in a few hours. It's the same as your phone PIN and there isn't anywhere you can change it, so it's just security theater. This is not the Signal PIN. It sounds like you have the Screen Lock option enabled. https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059792-Signal-PIN https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059792-Si...
    - anigbrowl 3y ago
      I'm aware of the registration lock PIN. But the screen lock option is just the same as the phone PIN, so it provides zero additional security.

Great! Now can we have backups so we don´t lose our messages if our phone gets stolen or breaks?

by noja 3y ago

Great! Now can we have backups so we don´t lose our messages if our phone gets stolen or breaks?

p2004a 3y ago

But there are backups available in signal app

vinay427 3y ago
There are no backups available on the iPhone/iPad app, only a device-to-device transfer while setting up a new device assuming your previous device and new device are both iPhones/iPads. This is despite support for apps storing files to the filesystem that was added some years ago now, and many other apps on those platforms supporting backups of custom file formats (or JSON, etc.). https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Backup-and-Restore-Messages#ios_restore https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Ba...
- yreg 3y ago
  I'm currently facing this issue. The process to transfer the history is to scan a QR code displayed on the new phone by the app on the old phone. Well, the camera on my old iPhone is broken. The phone has 3 other working cameras, but I cannot switch which one the app uses…

ibejoeb 3y ago

Backups have existing for quite some time: settings -> chats -> backups update: only on android. turns out there are quite a few caveats for backup. See https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Backup-and-Restore-Messages https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Ba...

noja 3y ago
Nope. Latest version.
- ibejoeb 3y ago
  Backup functionality was removed in the latest version?
  - CuriousCosmic 3y ago
    No. iOS builds don't support it.
frereubu 3y ago
I don't see that option in Settings > Chats on my iPhone. What device are you using?
vinay427 3y ago
My cousin comment [1] provides a bit more detail, but this is not available on iOS/iPadOS despite Apple allowing apps to save files to the filesystem and many other apps supporting this for years now. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39445286 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39445286
bsimpson 3y ago
I see it, but it just looks like it uses internal storage. So far as I know, there's no Drive File Stream/Dropbox sync for Android, so you'd still lose your shit if you weren't manually backing them up somewhere. I doubt that's a habit many people will develop for a setting they didn't even know existed.
- MadnessASAP 3y ago
  It's not going to help a casual user but I solved the problem by putting the Signal backup in a Syncthing shared folder. It's been a workable solution at least 2 phone swaps now
  - XorNot 3y ago
    It tries to keep 2 copies and so uses 2x the space on your phone. If you're sending a lot of images and video, then it becomes impractical quickly.
izacus 3y ago
Please stop peddling this horrible experience as a form of a valid backup. A process that requires full manual interaction and requires you to know ahead of time when your phone will break or be stolen is not a useful backup process.
- growse 3y ago
  Eh? My Signal auto-backups every night to a device folder which I then replicate off with Syncthing. How is that requiring "full manual interaction"?
  - freedomben 3y ago
    I think GP is being a little too harsh, but I also think you're being a little too generous. If it requires a third-party tool like sync thing, then it seems like a hard point to argue that signal has Auto backups. It's better than nothing, but it is definitely not as seamless as most users would expect from a backup solution.
    - growse 3y ago
      It doesn't "require" Syncthing, I just choose to use it. I could choose to keep it on my device, or upload it to Dropbox or something else. Even keeping it locally is still a backup that protects against the device corrupting it's local database or accidentally getting uninstalled / cleared. There's no single obvious thing called "this is what everyone wants from backup".
      - freedomben 3y ago
        > My Signal auto-backups every night to a device folder which I then replicate off with Syncthing > It doesn't "require" Syncthing I'm talking about your solution, and yes it does seem to require syncthing, unless you are using some fourth party tool that sets up syncthing automatically for you, and in that case it still isn't built in to Signal. There are other possible solutions, but you used your solution as an example. If you have a different solution that doens't require syncthing and also doesn't require manual intervention (i.e. Signal app can automate the process), please share it. Remember what the comment said that we are replying to: > Please stop peddling this horrible experience as a form of a valid backup. A process that requires full manual interaction and requires you to know ahead of time when your phone will break or be stolen is not a useful backup process. Did you not have to manually setup syncthing (or some other sync tool) to get it working? Or do you know of some way to do that with just Signal? Unless you are saying that Signal has a built-in backup solution that doesn't require manual intervention (like configuring some sort of third-party syncing service) then you aren't rebutting anything.
anigbrowl 3y ago
They're pretty bad. You can't specify where the backup goes, so if you are running low on storage space (eg if you have a lot of photos or videos to back up) and add an SD card, tough luck because you can't save there. The best you can do is manually export your media (also without any choice over where it goes) and then manually move it to the SD card to make space on your internal storage. They say this is for security but if an attacker is in a position to export your backup, they are already in your signal account. Same story with the PIN signal requires if you haven't used it in a few hours. It's the same as your phone PIN and there isn't anywhere you can change it, so it's just security theater.
- ThePowerOfFuet 3y ago
  > Same story with the PIN signal requires if you haven't used it in a few hours. It's the same as your phone PIN and there isn't anywhere you can change it, so it's just security theater. This is not the Signal PIN. It sounds like you have the Screen Lock option enabled. https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059792-Signal-PIN https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059792-Si...
  - anigbrowl 3y ago
    I'm aware of the registration lock PIN. But the screen lock option is just the same as the phone PIN, so it provides zero additional security.