Signal lets you back up your chats for free now - plus its first-ever paid feature

"The new feature is called Secure Backups. It refreshes every day and lets you save your conversations in an end-to-end encrypted "privacy-preserving form," Signal said. Secure Backups are opt-in. If you don't want to use the feature, you don't have to. However, whoever you're chatting with could be using the feature, so your messages may be saved in their storage even if you opt out."

"You get 100MiB of storage for free and can back up and access your previous 45 days of messages and media at any time. Signal noted that messages are compressed when archived, so the free storage should be enough for the majority of users. If you want to go beyond 45 days, you can utilize a paid plan that's $1.99 a month - the company's first-ever paid feature."

"The company explained that it waited until now to roll out a paid feature because media requires a lot of storage, and storing and transferring large amounts of data is expensive. Signal added that, "as a nonprofit that refuses to collect or sell your data," it has to cover those costs in a different way (not selling ads or monetizing data)."

Signal introduces Secure Backups, an opt-in, end-to-end encrypted backup that refreshes daily and stores conversations in a privacy-preserving form. Users receive 100MiB of free storage, enabling access to the previous 45 days of messages and media, with archived messages compressed to conserve space. The free tier should suit the majority of users, while an optional $1.99-per-month plan extends retention beyond 45 days as the company's first paid feature. The company cited high media storage and transfer costs and its nonprofit stance against monetizing user data as reasons for the paid option. A 64-character recovery key anchors backup security.

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