Signal Backups One Year Later Adds Cross-Platform and Local Archiving

Signal reviews the launch of Secure Backups one year ago and lists the new features added since: local backups, cross-platform support, storage optimization, and attachment retrieval for linked devices.

Secure Backups remains optional. It archives end-to-end encryption, with users holding a 64-bit recovery key, and the server claims it cannot decrypt. The free tier retains all text and media for nearly 45 days; the paid tier costs about $1.99 per month and can back up up to approximately 100 GB of media. Self-destructing messages and messages that disappear within 24 hours are not included in the backup. Local backups first cover desktop and iOS, with Android focusing on storing encrypted copies in user-selected locations. Cross-platform backups can be created and restored between Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows, allowing users to switch systems without starting from scratch. Attachment retrieval allows newly linked devices to securely request missing files from the main device when they roll past the 45-day window. Recovery must be done using the same number during the initial registration process and cannot be merged with already installed clients. Device-to-device transfer is still limited to the same system and requires both devices to be present.

The paid tier covers the storage cost of encrypted attachments through subscriptions, while the free tier controls billing with a 45-day limit. The local path keeps users who distrust the cloud reliant on folders and a 30-character password. Phishing attempts disguised as customer service claiming backups will be permanently lost are expected to appear in May 2026, aiming to steal recovery keys. Registration locks can prevent others from binding a number to a new device, but without the key, the cloud archive remains inaccessible. Community desktop local backups still have instances of verification failures, indicating confusion when new options run parallel to the old key system.

A year ago, Android testing led the way, promising subsequent support for iOS and desktop with user-selected storage locations. This marks the roadmap's transition into a product that allows device switching. The main device remains the source of truth for attachments, while linked devices serve as caches. Storage optimization did not provide compression ratio figures in the announcement.

Market-wise, this is the first time a privacy application has explicitly written cloud storage for attachments into a monthly fee. Buyers are users who fear losing chat records but do not want to give up encryption; sellers use $1.99 to cover object storage. Funds from subscriptions go towards bandwidth and disk space. Beneficiaries are heavy users who frequently switch devices or systems; those under pressure are users who rely solely on device-to-device transfers, media over 45 days, and attackers who harvest keys through phishing. The feature launch reduces churn from "Signal cannot switch devices" and turns key management into a new single point of failure.

Supplementary data: The help center's comparison table states that only Secure Backups can save users when they lose their phones; local files cannot be restored directly from Android to iPhone. The main device must complete recovery before linking to desktop and tablet.

Source: Public Information