After two months of alpha testing, Signal is now starting the beta phase of Signal backups for Android. This brings the much-requested backup feature one step closer to release.
In this first phase, the beta is only available via GitHub Releases. This means users need to manually download and install the latest version. Later, the beta will also roll out through the Play Store.
Beta testers can enable Signal backups via Settings > Backups.
Signal backups with beta label
In the Signal app, the new Backups feature has a small “Beta” label. This is intentional, as there are still edge cases that need further testing and Signal wants to finish some more features, such as Optimized Storage, before removing the label. For that reason, it may take several months before the beta label is removed.
Despite the label, the feature already works well. A Signal developer reported on the Community forum that backups and restores have been carried out successfully with datasets of more than 500,000 messages and around 45 GB of media. Still, unexpected issues may occur, which is why the team hopes users will help with testing during the beta.
Free and paid versions of Signal backups
As already announced, there will be both a free and a paid version of Signal backups. Both options include all your text messages, but the free version only includes recent media. Storage is expensive, and since Signal doesn’t earn money from ads or selling user data, the service charges $1,99 per month for the extended media backup to keep it sustainable.
In this article, you’ll find everything we know so far about Signal backups. It’s not yet known when backups will become available to all users.
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