Chat History Backup: Keep an Encrypted Copy in Your Own Folder

Most messaging apps quietly keep your conversations on their own servers, which is why they can show you your old messages on a new phone. A private messenger that does not keep your conversations on its servers makes a different promise: your history belongs to you. The other side of that promise is that you need to look after it. This is where a backup folder helps.

Where your history lives

In PeerFlow, delivered messages are stored on your own device, encrypted. They are not copied to the server after delivery. That is good for privacy, and it means that a lost, broken or reset phone would take its history with it, unless a copy exists somewhere else.

The PeerFlow folder

PeerFlow keeps a folder on your device (Downloads/PeerFlow on a computer, Documents/PeerFlow on Android). It holds several things in tidy subfolders:

• Received: files you received from other people.
• Recordings: meeting and remote-session recordings.
• Screenshots: pictures taken during remote sessions.
• Your encrypted chat history, kept as encrypted files.

The history files are encrypted with keys that belong to your account, so having the files is not the same as being able to read them. Someone who finds the folder sees scrambled data.

Setting it up

The first time you open the app, the permissions list asks for the folder along with notifications, microphone, camera and battery settings. Choose Allow all or just the folder row. You can also open Settings and look at the permissions list at any time to see what is set up and what is not. After that the app keeps the folder up to date by itself.

Why a folder, not a cloud account

Cloud backups are convenient, but they put a copy of your history on someone else's server, which is exactly what private messaging tries to avoid. A folder on your own device is under your control. You can copy it to an external drive, a second computer or a storage service of your choice, and decide how it is protected. See P2P versus cloud sharing for the trade-offs.

Restoring on a new device

To bring your history to a new device, sign in with your account on the new device, then copy your backup folder across and let the app read it. Because the files are encrypted with your account's keys, only your account can open them. Make sure you can sign in before you reset or sell the old device.

A simple backup routine

1. Check that the folder is set up in the permissions list.
2. Copy the folder to a second place once a month, such as an external drive.
3. Keep the copy somewhere safe, not in a shared folder.
4. Test a restore once, so you know it works before you need it.
5. Delete old copies you no longer want.

What to keep and what to let go

Not every message deserves a backup. A year of "on my way" and "okay" is clutter. Keep what matters: addresses, decisions, receipts, photos from family. Because the history is yours, you can also choose to delete conversations you do not want to keep.

Safety of the files

Other things in the folder

Meeting recordings and screenshots end up in the same place, which keeps your work together. Treat the folder as private: recordings can contain people's faces and voices. See how to record a meeting and keep it private.

Why this matters

Privacy and convenience pull in different directions. A backup folder gives you a middle way: your history stays under your control, and you have a safety net. Read about end-to-end encrypted chat to see how the rest fits, and install the Android or Windows app to set up your folder.