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    Signal Secure Backups

    (signal.org)
    988 points keyboardJones | 15 comments | 08 Sep 25 16:43 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
    1. nikeee ◴[08 Sep 25 20:43 UTC] No.45173714[source]▶
    > alongside features that let you transfer your encrypted message history between Android, iOS, and Desktop devices.

    That's actually the feature I've been looking forward to. As I moved vom Android to iOS, I lost _all_ message histories from all messenger apps that use E2EE (Signal, WhatsApp, Threema, etc). The only one that "just worked" was Telegram due to not being encrypted. WhatsApp had a migration app that has to be done when setting up the iPhone, but it failed due to some bug. Signal had backups, but they didn't seem to be compatible between different OS versions.

    replies(4): >>45174202 #>>45174537 #>>45179214 #>>45183490 #
    2. nar001 ◴[08 Sep 25 21:25 UTC] No.45174202[source]▶
    You already can, if you at least set up desktop, you can transfer also message history, though you won't have your media older than 45 days. Maybe it can work as a stopgap before they roll out encrypeted backups everywhere
    replies(1): >>45175680 #
    3. arccy ◴[08 Sep 25 21:54 UTC] No.45174537[source]▶
    doesn't signal also have a transfer to other device flow now?
    replies(2): >>45174565 #>>45179682 #
    4. flaburgan ◴[08 Sep 25 21:58 UTC] No.45174565[source]▶
    They have it between two Android phones next to each other for years, but probably not Android to iOS
    5. zbrozek ◴[08 Sep 25 23:54 UTC] No.45175680[source]▶
    That's a weird and crappy arbitrary limitation when I could move an arbitrary amount of data between the two devices otherwise. It's the worst part of Signal.
    replies(2): >>45176666 #>>45177783 #
    6. rjzzleep ◴[09 Sep 25 02:22 UTC] No.45176666{3}[source]▶
    On top of that you don't have that limitation on Android. It's like enterprise IT, where you put up restrictions everywhere on files and then people can upload files to their personal one drive.
    7. anilakar ◴[09 Sep 25 05:33 UTC] No.45177783{3}[source]▶
    It also does not work on Windows clients but errors out. Android and Linux are fine.
    replies(1): >>45179941 #
    8. littlestymaar ◴[09 Sep 25 08:35 UTC] No.45179214[source]▶
    > WhatsApp had a migration app that has to be done when setting up the iPhone, but it failed due to some bug.

    It's appalling to see how poor there QA is for a company that big. They also have a migration tool for migrations between android devices without going through a Google drive, but this one didn't work either when I tried it two years ago.

    9. internet_points ◴[09 Sep 25 09:33 UTC] No.45179682[source]▶
    iOS to iOS works

    Android to Android works

    iOS to/from Android does not work

    stolen phone to new phone does not work :)

    replies(1): >>45183531 #
    10. nar001 ◴[09 Sep 25 10:10 UTC] No.45179941{4}[source]▶
    It does for me, sure why it errors out for you
    11. giancarlostoro ◴[09 Sep 25 15:37 UTC] No.45183490[source]▶
    I've always been able to transfer history, from Android phone to Android phone, when I switched to iOS, I didn't bother since my wife was just going to start using Messages due to its encrypted nature. I really only used Signal with my wife, she only used it because I was using it and it allowed us to send images back and forth without losing quality.
    replies(1): >>45197102 #
    12. giancarlostoro ◴[09 Sep 25 15:39 UTC] No.45183531{3}[source]▶
    > stolen phone to new phone does not work :)

    I'm curious about that, has this been tested by someone who "steals" the phone, and tries to migrate before the actual phone owner even realizes?

    replies(2): >>45197446 #>>45209125 #
    13. 47282847 ◴[10 Sep 25 13:10 UTC] No.45197102[source]▶
    > without losing quality

    Signal does lossy compression on images. You can change image quality from “Standard“ to “High“ in its settings but not disable it.

    14. jraph ◴[10 Sep 25 13:36 UTC] No.45197446{4}[source]▶
    you need to be able to unlock the phone and then you need the Signal PIN code for this.
    15. internet_points ◴[11 Sep 25 08:13 UTC] No.45209125{4}[source]▶
    haha I was actually thinking of the case where you don't have your phone any more and want your signal history, but that's another way to read it :)