The secure-messaging service, Signal, has announced that Secure Backups are now available for iOS users. The feature had debuted for Android devices in September 2025.
You may be aware that Signal does not store your messages on a server like other chat apps do. All communication in Signal takes place between the sender and receiver, and is end-to-end encrypted. This also means that when a user loses access to their device, their entire message history is lost. In order to help users recover their message history, Signal added an optional feature called Secure Backups.
It allows users to save an archive of their conversations in Signal, in an encrypted form using a 64-character recovery key generated on a user's device, it is not sent to the server. This key is the only way to unlock access to the messages that are stored on the server, if you lose the key, the data cannot be recovered from the backup. This feature is opt-in, i.e. it is not enabled by default. If you don't enable this feature, Signal does not sync the message history to the cloud.
While the feature is free to use, there is one caveat. It only saves text messages and media content from the last 45 days. Signal also has a paid subscription plan, that costs $1.99 per month, that lets users back up their media history and message history beyond the 45-day limit.
Secure Backups were exclusively available on Android devices until now, the feature is now available to Signal users on iOS. To enable the feature, tap on your profile name in the top left corner of Signal's main screen. You should see an option called Backups, which has a Beta tag next to it, indicating it is still being developed. Tap on Backups, and then tap on Continue.
It will display an option that says View Recovery Key. The next screen displays the alphanumeric 64 character key, and you have an option to copy it to the clipboard and store it in a file or another app, for example, your password manager. Save it, and tap on Continue. You'll need to enter the key again, simply paste it to proceed. Next, you'll need to choose between the free plan and the paid subscription. Select the free option to finish setting up Secure Backups. It may take a while to complete if you have a lot of data to be backed up.
You can manually back up the data, view your recovery key, or delete the backup at anytime from the Backups page. This backup can be used to recover your data from the Settings > Restore or Transfer Account > Restore Signal Backup.
Here is a support page that has more details about the feature. Secure Backups are available on Signal version 7.86 or higher on iOS and version 7.56 or above on Android.
Signal was the first app to protest against Windows Recall's privacy concerns, when it added a Screen Security option which was enabled by default on Windows 11, to prevent screenshots of the app's contents and in turn protects the privacy of users.
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