I recently got a fairphone and I want to move my pictures, contacts, messages, etc. from my old android phone to the new one. My initial search found some apps that do this but they look like absolute privacy nightmares. What is a good way to accomplish this without handing my phone contents out like candy to whichever malevolent spyware developer?

  • QuazarOmega@lemy.lol
    0·
    3 days ago

    Besides the files that are easy enough to move over, for app data there really is no other choice than to either haves ones that support their own export/import functionality or if you’re not lucky enough to have eliminated the apps that don’t have it and need their data you can only go back to papa Google and ask to politely get all your stuff for restoration on the new phone.
    Takeaways:

    1. If you care more about salvaging data than privacy, use a Google account on your phones, otherwise, if you still value privacy but not so much security, root a phone as soon as you get it (not always possible or desirable) so you can use other backup solutions that require root access.
    2. Prefer installing apps that have an embedded backup functionality so you can be sure it’s always possible to get the data out regardless of what you did about point 1
    3. (Bonus) Ask for said backup functionality to be added to apps you’d like to use with a feature request on the app’s repo when it’s open source, I’ve been doing that for the past year or so and I saw that quite a few have gone and implemented it, love these dudes :)
    4. (super extra bonus) Fuck Google for artificially preventing a full backup solution that doesn’t rely on their cloud being involved
    • TipRing@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      3 days ago

      I managed to get everything moved over except some google data, man they are bastards. I am happy to be a little more extracted from their ecosystem though.

  • paradox2011@lemmy.ml
    0·
    4 days ago

    NeoBackup is the only one I’ve run across that seems to really fill the role of backup and restore thoroughly. The trouble is, in order to work it needs root, so I’ve nw er actually been able to try it. Almost reason enough to root in my book 😅, I love a good back up system.

    Seedvault is another fairly well developed option, but it needs to be hardcoded in to the OS by the ROM developer.

    You’ll probably ly benefit from a series of different backup apps in combination. Here’s a few that I’ve used and benefitted from:

    SMS import/export - backs up all SMS, MMS call logs and contacts. Does not backup RCS.

    Applist backup - back up your installed app list. This includes data on where you installed the app from and where you can get it again along with other useful info. The apps still have to manually installed.

    Aside from those two, most FOSS apps include a backup and restore function, such as: signal, neo launcher, fossify calendar, newpipe, metro (music player), aegis (2 factor), obtainium, etc…

    I hope this helps. I tend to tinker and install various ROMs, so am well aquainted with the pain of setting up a fresh OS without a system wide backup program. Its not as bad as it seems though, and as long as you get your messages, contacts and call logs moved over it goes pretty smooth.

    • KnightontheSun@lemmy.world
      0·
      4 days ago

      Regarding Applist, does this copy the app’s data?

      I have a game on a phone I’d like to copy to a tablet so progress is not lost. App is in both devices already. Would that work?

      Sorry for piggybacking on OP.

      • paradox2011@lemmy.ml
        0·
        4 days ago

        Sadly it doesn’t 🥲. Copying app data is the hardest part of the process without a system level backup like seedvault, neobackup or traditional google backup services.