Hey, howdy, hallo,
I had a few different topics I was thinking about writing this month, but I didn’t feel like writing about any of them. So instead, I thought I would talk about how I back up the data on my Google Pixel running GrapheneOS.
There’s no wrong way to do this…well, there is, if you aren’t able to restore the data you backed up then you did it wrong. But if you can restore your data, and it works for you, keep doing what you’re doing.
I made a video about LocalSend a while ago. It lets you transfer files to other devices on the same wireless network easily. I’m going to be referencing it below, so I want to get a quick explanation out of the way here.
I use KeePassDX on my mobile device, but I make all edits to my vault from my laptop using KeePassXC. I like KeePass because it’s simple. Your entire password vault is a single file, that’s it. So once a week I use LocalSend and manually transfer a copy of my vault to my phone. I’m not changing or adding entries often so I don’t need real-time syncing. The file on my laptop is backed up to my NAS automatically, then sent offsite auto-magically in case I have catastrophic data/hardware failure. Since I don’t make any edits on GrapheneOS to my password vault, I don’t really back this up. So I guess this isn’t really fitting with what I wanted to explain in this email, but I thought I would mention it anyway since most of us use (or should use) some sort of password manager.
I take photos with my phone, and sometimes save photos from Signal to my device. Eventually I want to transfer them off my device. So every few weeks, I use (you guessed it) LocalSend to manually transfer my photos to my laptop. From there, I upload them to my self-hosted instance of Immich where they are then backed up to my NAS and offsite. The Immich mobile app does have an auto-upload feature. I know a few people who use it and say it works well, I just choose not to (for now).
I currently manage notes on my computer in markdown files. If I need to take a note quick on my phone I use the Signal “Note to Self” and add it to my notes later. If I wanted, I could have a copy of my notes on my phone, use a markdown editor there as well, and sync them with LocalSend.
Signal messages, text messages, phone/app settings, etc. It’s all expendable. If I lose that data, it will be annoying, but I don’t care enough about it to want a full device backup. If you really want to save something, you shouldn’t rely on the message existing in your chat app as permanent storage.
I just know that if I lose my phone or there is a hardware failure, I’ll need to set it up from scratch. It’s not the end of the world, and the things I actually care about, that aren’t replaced by a few hours of effort, are safe.
Simplicity scales and lasts. Complex setups and odd workarounds don’t. Save what is irreplaceable, reliably. And worry about the rest IF it becomes a problem.
I hope you had a great March, and I’ll see you in April!
-Josh
Ever wanted to listen to different radio stations across the globe?
A Few Thoughts on the Future of Tech • I/O
How Android Is Becoming More Restricted
GrapheneOS goes Motorola
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