With Signal, your chat histories and messages can be secured by simply creating backups. In our instructions we will show you how you can protect yourself in all cases.
With Signal’s backup function, you get a quick and uncomplicated solution that allows you to save your chats on your cell phone. If your cell phone breaks, you reset it or get a new device, the chats from the backup are easily restored.
It’s similar to WhatsApp’s backup feature or SMS Backup & Restore app, although Signal has a few limitations. You cannot transfer Signal chats to other messengers and you also have to do without automatic cloud backups in Signal.
Backup: The ultimate guide to data backup
With a backup or data backup you can protect your images, documents and other important files with a backup copy. In the ultimate backup guide, Netzwelt reveals how you can create a data backup for Windows, OS X, Android and iOS.
However, there is a solution for the latter limitation: you can manually save backups created with Signal to the desired location, for example in the cloud. In any case, Signal is sufficient for a normal Android backup. You start backing up your data as follows:
If you reinstall Signal and/or switch to another smartphone, you can restore a chat backup saved with Signal as follows.
Signal: Restrictions and important information
Important: Backups are limited in the iOS version. Export and import functions are missing in the iOS version, and old Signal chats cannot be restored using complete system backups via iTunes.
As mentioned at the beginning, transferring chats to WhatsApp or other messengers and vice versa is not possible. If you switch from WhatsApp to Signal, you can back up your previous chats as described in the linked article.
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By the way, with Messenger you are not tied to your smartphone, which is why you can also use Signal on other devices.
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