Signal’s New Update: Encrypted Cloud History Is Here
For years, users of the privacy-focused messaging app Signal have faced a common dilemma: how to switch to a new phone without losing their entire chat history. The platform’s ironclad commitment to security meant messages lived only on your device, making transfers cumbersome. Now, a significant update is changing the game by introducing a long-awaited feature: encrypted cloud storage for your recent messages.
This new system is designed to solve the biggest usability challenge for Signal users while maintaining the core promise of absolute privacy. Let’s break down what this update means for you and your conversations.
What Is Changing with Signal’s Message History?
Signal is rolling out a feature that allows you to store your most recent messages on its servers. This isn’t an unlimited archive like you might find on other platforms. Instead, it’s a carefully designed solution that balances convenience with security.
Here are the essential details:
- You get 100MB of free, encrypted storage. This is enough to hold approximately a few weeks to a few months of typical text-based conversations, media, and links.
- It makes switching devices seamless. When you install Signal on a new phone, you can now pull down your recent message history from the cloud, making the transition effortless.
- The feature is opt-in. You have full control and must choose to enable it.
This update directly addresses the frustration of starting from scratch on a new device, a major barrier that often prevented people from sticking with the platform.
How It Works: Security First
The primary concern for any Signal user is privacy. So, how can messages be stored on a server without compromising the platform’s legendary security? The answer lies in its robust encryption model.
Your message history is protected by end-to-end encryption (E2EE), just like your live conversations. The data stored on Signal’s servers is an unreadable, encrypted “blob” of information. The only way to decrypt it is with your Signal PIN, which acts as your personal key.
Crucially, Signal never has access to your PIN or the decryption key. This means the company cannot read, scan, or turn over your message history to anyone. You are the only person who can unlock your conversations on a new device. This zero-knowledge architecture ensures your privacy remains intact.
What About Disappearing Messages?
If you rely on disappearing messages for sensitive conversations, don’t worry—that feature isn’t going anywhere. You can still set timers for messages to self-destruct in any individual or group chat.
The new cloud history feature fully respects your disappearing message settings. If a message is set to disappear after one day, it will be automatically removed from your cloud backup after that time, just as it is from your device. The two features work together to give you both convenience and granular control over your data’s lifespan.
Actionable Security Tips for Signal Users
This new feature makes your Signal PIN more important than ever. Here’s how you can ensure your account remains secure:
- Strengthen Your Signal PIN: Your PIN is the key to your encrypted history. Avoid simple, easy-to-guess numbers like “123456” or your birthday. Use a longer, more complex alphanumeric PIN for maximum security. You can change it anytime in
Settings > Account > Change Your PIN. - Enable Registration Lock: Found in
Settings > Account > Registration Lock, this feature requires your PIN to re-register your phone number on a new device. This prevents others from hijacking your account. - Understand the Limit: Remember that the 100MB storage is for recent history. It is not a complete, unlimited backup solution. For long-term archiving, you may still need to consider local, manual backups on your device.
- Decide if the Feature is Right for You: While secure, storing any data in the cloud comes with a theoretical risk. If your threat model requires messages to only exist on your physical device, you can simply choose not to enable the new message history feature.
Ultimately, this update represents a major step forward for Signal, making the secure messenger more practical for everyday users without compromising on the principles that made it a trusted name in privacy.
Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/09/09/storage_message_signal/
