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Signal Private Messenger Rolls Out Secure Backups for iPhone

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Encrypted messaging platform Signal now offers secure backups on iPhone, letting users save and restore messages if they lose access to their device.

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There are free and paid versions of Signal's secure backups. The free version lets users store up to 100MB of text messages, including photos, videos, and files from the last 45 days.

The paid version costs $1.99 per month and can back up all text messages, along with up to 100GB of media which can be older than 45 days.

The end-to-end encrypted backups can be accessed using a 64-character recovery key generated by the user's device, but keeping the key safe is crucial – if it's lost, Signal can't help users recover their backups.

Enabling secure backups in the Signal app is straightforward: Open the Settings menu and select Backups, then tap Setup ➝ Enable Backups. After a recovery key is generated, users can choose a free or paid plan.

Secure backups first came to Android in September. Signal says it plans to bring secure backups to its desktop app, and its longer term goal is to allow users to transfer message history between Android, iPhone, and desktop apps.

Tag: Signal

Top Rated Comments

mthomas184 Avatar
mthomas184
18 weeks ago

You go ahead and believe what "they" tell you. :)
You dropped this.



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Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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G725
18 weeks ago

Not a fan of subscriptions. But if you only need to sign up for 1 month when i.e. you change phones, I think that is acceptable.
You can already easily transfer all your Signal chats from your old phone to your new phone.
The backup is for the case that your old phone is lost or stopped working. In that case you need to have uploaded a backup before.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
maasj
18 weeks ago
I love Signal! This development is great news for end user usability. Free backups to iCloud are great… until you don’t want every government on earth spying on you.

For the few remaining people who care about privacy, Signal is where it’s at.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
maasj
18 weeks ago

You go ahead and believe what "they" tell you. :)
Tell me that you don't understand how open source software works without telling me that you don't understand how open source software works.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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Martin Bland
18 weeks ago
If Signal can securely store a backup on their cloud, Signal can securely store a blob on my phone. A blob that should just copy along with the rest of my data when I upgrade phones. Any data security paranoia with regards to the on-phone blob applies equally to this cloud backup. Any data security paranoia can be mitigated by applying the paranoia safeguards to the key material securing the blob instead of to the blob itself.

I'm baffled by Signal's continued insistence on their cumbersome, user hostile, and backwards data migration process. It's dumb and it's likely the biggest hurdle blocking most people from using Signal. Most people will not realize at first that Signal's data doesn't transfer when upgrading a phone until it is too late and the data is lost. Losing data is inexcusable. The separate data transfer hassle is unnecessarily painful and a reminder to look elsewhere.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mthomas184 Avatar
mthomas184
18 weeks ago

Nothing is private anymore, but it sure is funny that companies try to make you believe in privacy.
The protocol that Signal uses has been audited and proven to be private and secure.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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