How to Securely Back Up and Restore Your Signal Chats on a New Phone
Losing your phone is stressful enough without the added worry of losing your entire chat history. For users of the privacy-focused messaging app Signal, this has long been a significant concern. While Signal’s commitment to security is unparalleled, its lack of a simple backup and restore option made switching to a new device a daunting task.
That’s all changing. Signal has introduced a new, secure way to back up and restore your messages, profile, and settings, finally bridging the gap between ironclad privacy and user convenience.
The Challenge: Balancing Privacy and Convenience
Previously, moving your Signal chat history to a new phone required a direct, device-to-device transfer. This meant you needed both your old and new phones in your possession and connected to the same Wi-Fi network. If your old phone was lost, stolen, or broken, your message history was gone for good.
This limitation was a direct result of Signal’s core design philosophy: your data belongs to you and should never be accessible by the company. Unlike other messaging apps that store backups on Google Drive or iCloud in a way that the platform provider could potentially access, Signal refused to compromise its end-to-end encryption model.
Now, they’ve developed a solution that offers the convenience of cloud backups without sacrificing privacy.
Introducing Secure Value Recovery: A New Era of Encrypted Backups
The new feature allows you to create an encrypted backup of your Signal data that is stored remotely. However, the method used ensures that Signal—or anyone else—can never access its contents. The entire system is built on a principle of zero-knowledge, meaning only you hold the key to your data.
How does it work? The system relies on a unique, 12-word passphrase.
When you enable the new backup feature, Signal generates this special passphrase. This is the single most important piece of information you need to protect.
- Your backup file is encrypted on your device before it is ever sent to the cloud.
- The 12-word passphrase is the only key that can decrypt this backup file.
- Signal never sees or stores your passphrase. It exists only for you.
Think of it like this: your message history is locked in a digital safe. The encrypted backup file is the safe itself, which is stored in a secure warehouse (the cloud). Your 12-word passphrase is the only existing key to that safe. Without the key, the safe is just an impenetrable box.
This means you can confidently back up your data knowing that even though it’s stored remotely, no one but you can ever read it.
How to Enable Secure Backups and Protect Your Passphrase
Activating this feature is simple, but it requires careful attention to securing your new passphrase.
- Update Your App: Make sure you have the latest version of Signal installed on your device.
- Navigate to Settings: Open Signal and go to your profile, then
Settings. - Find the Backup Option: Look for a new menu item related to backups or chat restoration.
- Generate Your Passphrase: Follow the on-screen instructions to enable backups. The app will generate your unique 12-word passphrase.
CRITICAL STEP: You must save this passphrase in a secure location. If you lose your phone and your passphrase, your backup will be unrecoverable.
Actionable Security Tips for Storing Your Passphrase
Your passphrase is the key to your entire Signal history. Treat it with the same level of security as your bank passwords or the deed to your house.
- Best Option: Use a Password Manager. Store the 12-word phrase as a secure note in a reputable password manager like Bitwarden, 1Password, or KeePass. This is the most secure and convenient digital method.
- Good Option: Write It Down. Physically write the passphrase on a piece of paper and store it in a secure location, such as a home safe, a safety deposit box, or another trusted place where you keep important documents.
- Avoid Insecure Methods: Do not save your passphrase as a screenshot in your photo gallery, in an unencrypted notes app, or in a plain text file on your computer’s desktop. These methods are highly vulnerable to being compromised.
Restoring Your Messages on a New Device
Once your secure backup is enabled, restoring your account on a new phone is incredibly straightforward.
- Install Signal on your new device.
- During the setup process, choose the option to restore from a backup.
- Enter your 12-word passphrase when prompted.
Signal will then download your encrypted backup file, use your passphrase to decrypt it locally on your new phone, and restore your profile, settings, and full chat history.
By putting the key exclusively in the user’s hands, Signal has successfully solved one of its biggest usability challenges without compromising the fundamental privacy promises that define the platform. This new feature provides peace of mind, ensuring your private conversations remain both secure and accessible when you need them most.
Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/signal-adds-secure-cloud-backups-to-save-and-restore-chats/
