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Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?

#171

Post by Tainnor »

dismalaf wrote: post #166
kasabali wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

App data . Play store simply reinstalls the apps but they're in a clean state. Some apps supposedly back up and restore their data from Google cloud but that's rare.

Honestly, I can't think of a single app that doesn't back up its own data. Meta apps have their own backup mechanism, games all backup either through their own servers or Play Games service, pretty much everything I use is a service of some sort. But yeah, I guess Google isn't backing up the state of the offline chess app I downloaded 10 years ago...

It's nice that you don't have this problem with the apps that you use, but others do.

Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?

#172

Post by hagbard_c »

All personal data - photos/videos, mail, messages, etc - is synced to my own server. Since I mostly use web apps running on my own server there isn't that much personal data or configuration on the things anyway. Configuring a 'new' device comes down to installing an AOSP-derived distribution without any Googly bits, add F-Droid to get applications, add Termux and the necessary applications to:

- connect to my network: Wireguard (encrypted tunnel)

- keep out unwanted content: Adaway (hosts-based content blocker), AFWall (firewall configuration)

- access control to my own and other services: Aegis (TOTP app, configuration is synced to the server)

- access services on my own server: Nextcloud (sync), DavX5 (contacts, agenda), K9 (mail), Conversations (messaging), DSub (audio), Antennapod (netcasts, syncs with gpodder on Nextcloud), Audiobookshelf (audio book player), M.A.L.P (controls several MPD instances around the premises), zmNinja (Zoneminder viewer, used for video surveillance around the farm), Timelimit (access controls for my 13yo daughter's devices), Librera Reader (eBook reader, connects via OPDS to archive on server)

- add the few proprietary applications needed: BankID (Swedish electronic ID), DigiD (Dutch electronic ID), DB Navigator (German railway app), NS reisplanner (Dutch railway app), Västtrafik To Go (Swedish railway app for western Sweden). These all connect to accounts on remote services and do not keep local state so backups are not needed, for the first two backups are not even useable on other hardware since their state is directly connected to the IMEI and/or IMSI of the local device.

Once configured I make a backup in the recovery (TWRP, PBRP etc) which I sync to the server. After that I only make backups after more radical changes to the device, e.g. when I install a new distribution. The rationale for this is that it is always possible to recreate the device from 'scratch' by following the above steps, these are scripted for a number of devices. All personal data ends up on the server (currently a DL380 G7 running Proxmox) which gets backed up daily. If and when a device breaks or gets lost in some way I can recreate it after repairing or replacing the hardware and firmware.

Apart from the mentioned proprietary apps there is no data leakage outside of my own network.

Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?

#174

Post by radeeyate »

ur-whale wrote: post #73
alyandon wrote: post #6

The only data I care about on the phone already gets backed up by Google and is then exported regularly via Google Takeout. I don't live on my phone so I tend not to generate much of any value on it other than random pictures of things. Prior to Google automatically backing up everything, I used Titanium Backup.

> The only data I care about on the phone already gets backed up by Google and is then exported regularly via Google Takeout. Are you using Google Authenticator? If so, how do you backup your secrets?

Google already automatically backs up secrets to your Google Account

Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?

#176

Post by dismalaf »

Tainnor wrote: post #171
dismalaf wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I can't think of a single app that doesn't back up its own data. Meta apps have their own backup mechanism, games all backup either through their own servers or Play Games service, pretty much everything I use is a service of some sort. But yeah, I guess Google isn't backing up the state of the offline chess app I downloaded 10 years ago...

It's nice that you don't have this problem with the apps that you use, but others do.

Can you give an example? An app that doesn't back up data that's essential to you?

Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?

#177

Post by scarface_74 »

Tainnor wrote: post #169

Having switched phones a couple of months ago, there didn't seem to be a good option. Either you need to have root - which means that most banking apps won't work anymore -, you need to backup to the cloud which a) not every app supports and b) I don't want to do for more private data, or you need to use the backup API that however some apps also don't support. It's a mess and I don't understand that Google hasn't fi…

What’s wrong with their built in support?

https://support.google.com/android/answer/2819582?hl=en

It doesn’t work like iCloud where everything is backed up - even private app data?

Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?

#178

Post by scarface_74 »

daveoc64 wrote: post #158
hot_gril wrote: post #136

I've never used Android, so the answers here are surprising. There's really no equivalent to iTunes/Finder that'll just back up your phone to a PC?

This is partly because Android apps may store data in one of several locations. In previous versions of Android it was possible for apps to store data in an arbitrary folder on the device (if the user granted the relevant permission). That resulted in it being quite difficult for the OS to identify which files and folders related to any single app. In more modern versions of Android, most apps are no longer allowed t…

What’s the motivation for app makers to completely opt out?

I understand that some data is considered cached and shouldn’t be backed up. But Android already allows that.

> Auto Backup excludes files in directories returned by getCacheDir(), getCodeCacheDir(), and getNoBackupFilesDir(). The files saved in these locations are needed only temporarily and are intentionally excluded from backup operations.

Overall though, this has been a solved problem since 2010 on iOS. True you only get 5GB of iCloud storage by default. But you can pay for more or use iTunes for local backup

Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?

#179

Post by scarface_74 »

m-p-3 wrote: post #26

All the stuff I care about is all backed up in some form (photos to Google Photos, emulator game saves through Syncthing between my decices, contacts in Google Contacts, emails are in Gmail, credentials through Bitwarden, etc).

I can literally throw my iPhone in the ocean, buy another phone, log in to my Apple account and my new phone looks and works just like the old one with all of the settings, Home Screen app placement, widgets being in the same place and local app data being restored.

You would be missing all of that

Re: Ask HN: How do you backup your Android?

#180

Post by scarface_74 »

m463 wrote: post #28

wow, hacker news and all these people just "phoning it in" We really need more folks to hack on their phones and set/spread a good example. Otherwise "general computing" will be replaced by landlords. The concept of a landlord may be traced back to the feudal system of manoralism (seignorialism), where a landed estate is owned by a Lord of the Manor... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landlord#History

My phone is an appliance. I have no more desire to manage my phone than I do my dishwasher.

I sign into my Apple account, pay Apple for more storage and everything gets backed up that’s on my iPhone and iPad.

When I get a new phone, I log in while I’m at the Apple Store, wait for everything to be restored, wipe my old phone and give it back to Apple for a carrier discount or a discount from Apple.

Life is too short to do otherwise. I work with computers 40 hours a week in exchange for money that I then exchange for goods and services.

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