Signal’s new sync feature will finally transfer your existing messages to desktop

Signal is regarded as one of, if not the most secure messaging applications currently available on the market. All communication on the platform is automatically end-to-end encrypted, with users having the option to set disappearing/view-once messages, username identification instead of phone numbers, shareable meeting links, and more.

Notably, similar to WhatsApp, the app allows for multi-device usage, with linking a companion device being as easy as scanning a QR code, even when you’re trying to link to the app’s standalone desktop client.

It’s worth noting, however, that linking a primary account to a Signal instance on Dekstop or iPad had previously forced users to start fresh on the linked account. This essentially meant that users couldn’t access their existing messaging history and media on the newly linked iPad or Desktop. Instead, Signal only synced new messages from the moment of linking and onwards.

Now, reaching parity with linked accounts on other Android and iOS devices, users will soon be able to transfer over their message history, including photos, videos, files, and really long text messages, alongside stickers, call history, group updates, quotes, reactions, and even delivery/read receipts.

The messaging giant announced the development in a new blog post, indicating that the change will go live in an upcoming beta release. “Instead of starting fresh, and having only new messages show up, you can choose to bring your chats and your last 45 days of media with you. Or, you can choose not to,” reads Signal’s blog post, adding that the feature will roll out to stable Signal builds “over the next several weeks.”

As expected from Signal, the open-source messaging giant has made it clear that it will transfer message backups in the most secure way possible, putting privacy over everything else, and it has developed a secure method to do just that. The process involves creating a highly compressed and encrypted version of a user’s chat history, attachments, and everything in between, on the primary device.

Via Signal’s servers, the compressed and archived history is transmitted over to the new companion desktop or iPad.

“To link a new Desktop or iPad device to an existing Signal account, the new device must prove it has the account holder’s permission to connect to the existing Signal account, and obtain a set of keys from the primary device.” This is the primary step when establishing a new linked account, done when you scan the companion device’s QR code with the primary device. This key allows the secondary device to decrypt the message history. Once decrypted, the linked device “can throw away the key forever.”

Users can expect the update to arrive in beta soon, with a wider rollout expected over the next several weeks.