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Signal Secure Backups

signal.org

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Re: Signal Secure Backups

#11

Post by navigate8310 »

y7 wrote: post #6

Without paying for remote backups, can I just manage my own backup on my own hard drive, and restore it when I want to?

>The technology that underpins this initial version of secure backups will also serve as the foundation for more secure backup options in the near future. Our future plans include letting you save a secure backup archive to the location of your choosing, alongside features that let you transfer your encrypted message history between Android, iOS, and Desktop devices.

Re: Signal Secure Backups

#12

Post by jewel »

y7 wrote: post #6

Without paying for remote backups, can I just manage my own backup on my own hard drive, and restore it when I want to?

Yes! That has been supported for a long while. At least on Android, go to Settings -> Chats -> Chat Backups. Set up a schedule and a passphrase and a folder, and it will export your chats every day.

I do that and then sync that folder with another computer using SyncThing.

Re: Signal Secure Backups

#13

Post by Marsymars »

elvisloops wrote: post #7

I can't believe Signal is doing this. Signal is known for its cutting-edge cryptographic protocol, but this feature has the effect of throwing that out the window and replacing it with a single static key. If a device with this enabled goes through the whole advanced protocol to receive a message (double ratcheting etc), then turns around and uploads it back to Signal’s servers with a static key, isn't that a roundab…

> They’re calling it "opt-in," but it doesn't look like that's actually true? You can’t know whether someone you’re talking to -- who may not understand the implications -- has enabled it. In group chats, it looks like a single person turning it on eliminates signal protocol for everyone in the chat.

TBF Signal already supports automated key-protected backup (and has for years), it's just stored on-device, but there's no way to know what the other party is doing with that on-device backup.

Re: Signal Secure Backups

#14

Post by growse »

Full message content seems to be free, with the option to pay £1.59pm for all media included (45 days of media included in the free tier).

Seems pretty reasonable?

Re: Signal Secure Backups

#15

Post by georgeck »

It would be really useful to have more client-side control over media storage. That way, I could better manage storage growth without wiping entire threads.

For example, being able to see all media across chats, sort by file size, and optionally group by conversation would make it much easier to clean things up.

Re: Signal Secure Backups

#16

Post by nairb774 »

y7 wrote: post #6

Without paying for remote backups, can I just manage my own backup on my own hard drive, and restore it when I want to?

Yep. Local backup generation has been around for at least a few years. You can have signal make a backup for you every day. You just need to get it off the device. This looks to be adding a remote option for this existing feature.

Re: Signal Secure Backups

#18

Post by Marsymars »

rogerkirkness wrote: post #2

The main way I specialize messages at this point is basically 'Am I going to want this later'? If the answer is yes, I use email. If not I use Signal. It's interesting this was the most requested feature... it wouldn't be for me even though I love Signal.

I like this idea, but I don't think I'd ever be able to convince my wife to run that analysis on any particular message before she decides whether to email or to message me on Signal.

Re: Signal Secure Backups

#19

Post by elvisloops »

Marsymars wrote: post #13
elvisloops wrote: post #7

I can't believe Signal is doing this. Signal is known for its cutting-edge cryptographic protocol, but this feature has the effect of throwing that out the window and replacing it with a single static key. If a device with this enabled goes through the whole advanced protocol to receive a message (double ratcheting etc), then turns around and uploads it back to Signal’s servers with a static key, isn't that a roundab…

> They’re calling it "opt-in," but it doesn't look like that's actually true? You can’t know whether someone you’re talking to -- who may not understand the implications -- has enabled it. In group chats, it looks like a single person turning it on eliminates signal protocol for everyone in the chat. TBF Signal already supports automated key-protected backup (and has for years), it's just stored on-device, but there'…

There's a big difference to me between storing it on device and someone else's servers.

Re: Signal Secure Backups

#20

Post by chimeracoder »

I know plenty of people who have inadvertently lost their entire messaging history because their phone broke or was lots and they couldn't transfer messages directly from the old phone to the new one. Signal allows you to export backups of messages to a file, but only on Android - the iOS version does not. This is a great feature not only for users who are less technically inclined than the average HN reader, but for any user who doesn't want to go through the tedious process of manually backing up their messages periodically but doesn't want to risk losing their message history if their phone has one unfortunate encounter with gravity.

My only concern reading this is that I hope they don't remove the manual export feature once this is rolled out. I know that that feature has been technically complicated to support, but it's important for users to preserve the option to maintain control over their backups, if they want to manage backups themselves, alongside the option of having a more convenient, automated approach.

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