Signal has announced new functionality in its upcoming beta releases, allowing users to transfer messages and media when linking their primary Signal device to a new desktop or iPad. This feature offers the choice to carry over chats and the last 45 days of media, or to start fresh with only new messages.
The transfer process is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring privacy. It involves creating a compressed, encrypted archive of your Signal data, which is then sent to the new device via Signal’s servers. Despite handling the transfer, the servers cannot access the message content due to the encryption.
With the introduction of a cross-platform archive format, Signal is also exploring additional tools for message transfer to new devices or restoration in case of device loss or damage. Users can begin testing this feature soon, with a wider rollout expected in the coming weeks.
No, I don’t do video calls personally other than at work.
But the vast majority of communication when not IRL to me is text so that makes sense to preserve, even info, daily communication and memes, just the kind of day to day stuff you wouldn’t “make memories” of but might want to look back on someday anyway.
I pretty regularly end up looking back on that stuff one way or another too, either just literally reminiscing or to check something or whatever.
It’s come in extremely useful, fun and has no real downsides. I can’t even imagine not doing it. Like going somewhere and not even taking a picture. What if you forget it ever happened?
How do you even build a narrative of your life? What do you do about things you forget or forget the details of like when it happened etc.?
Many times I thought something happened in e.g. January only to be proven wrong by looking up messages from that time and be proven wrong, naturally as human memory is pretty shite for the most part.