Signal Begins Rolling Out Optional Secure Backups on Android

By Amelia Santos

Signal has begun rolling out Secure Backups as an optional feature, with the first release arriving in the latest Android beta. In its announcement dated September 8, 2025, the company set out the feature’s initial behavior, coverage and pricing. The details below are based on Signal’s official description.

Once enabled, Secure Backups automatically creates a new secure archive every day and replaces the archive from the previous day. The daily cycle is therefore central to the feature as described: each new archive takes the place of the one created before it.

The free tier has a clearly stated scope. It backs up all text messages and the most recent 45 days of media. That means the coverage rules differ by content type: text messages are included in full, while the included media window covers the latest 45 days. Those are the two free-tier terms specified in the announcement.

Signal also lists a paid option at US$1.99 per month. That subscription covers message history and media older than 45 days, extending the archive scope beyond the free tier’s media window. The price and the older-media threshold are the concrete commercial terms attached to Secure Backups in the source.

The feature’s recovery key is another defined part of the rollout. Signal says the key contains 64 characters, is generated on the device and is never transmitted to Signal’s servers. The description is specific about both origin and handling: the key is created locally, and Signal says it does not receive it through its servers.

These details give Secure Backups a set of announced parameters: optional activation, a daily archive that replaces the previous one, different free and paid coverage rules, and a locally generated recovery key. The Android beta is the starting point named by Signal, while the remaining terms define what each tier includes and how the archive cycle operates.

For smartphone and app readers, the significance is in the boundaries Signal has published. The rollout identifies its first software channel—the latest Android beta—and gives the feature a precise content split: all text messages in the free tier, 45 days of media at no cost, and older media plus message history under the monthly plan.

Signal’s official announcement is the basis for each of those points. This report records the feature’s rollout, archive cadence, stated tiers and recovery-key design without turning the update into a how-to or a recommendation.

Official sources

Official source: signal.org

Sources and evidence

Official source: signal.org