Backup and restore

Anonomi Messenger 1.5.0 adds account backup and restore.

A backup is a single encrypted file holding your whole account. You can move it to another phone and carry on from where the backup was made.

There is no server involved. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is held for you, and nobody can open the file for you if you lose what protects it.

What you need

Two things, and both are required:

The backup file — written wherever you choose
The recovery code — 30 digits, shown once when the backup is made

Either one alone is useless. Together they are the account: anyone holding both has it, permanently.

Keep the file and the code apart. A backup file next to its recovery code is the same as no encryption at all.

What is in a backup

Included:

Your display name and identity keys
Your contacts
Every message you still have
The keys that unlock them

Not included:

Panic button setup
Stealth mode / calculator passcode
App lock and screen lock settings

Those stay on the old phone. Set them up again after restoring.

Making a backup

Go to Settings → Security → Back up account.

Enter your password. A backup outlasts an unlocked screen, so a phone found unlocked shouldn’t be enough to walk away with your account.
Write down the recovery code. 30 digits, shown in six groups of five. Write it on paper.
Type it back. The app asks you to re-enter it, so a mistake surfaces now rather than when you need it.
Choose where to save. The app warns you about the destination — see below.
Wait. It copies your account, writes the file, then reads it back to check it can actually be opened. Keep the app open until it finishes.

Once the backup is written, Settings shows Last backup with the date.

The recovery code is shown once

It is not stored on the phone and it cannot be shown again. If you lose it, the backup file cannot be opened — by you or by anyone else. Make a new backup instead.

Until you finish the steps you can go back and look at it again. After that it’s gone.

The filename

The app suggests a name like backup-20260817.bin. It deliberately says nothing about which app wrote it or what’s inside.

You can rename it. Consider whether the name you pick gives away more than the default does.

Where to put the file

The app cannot tell whether a destination syncs somewhere online, so it warns you about anything it doesn’t recognise as local.

Cloud or unknown destinations — if the folder syncs to an online account, your backup goes there too.
This phone or a removable drive — the file stays put until you move it yourself.

A memory card counts as being on the phone until you take the card out.

The app will never delete a backup file for you — not even a panic wipe. A backup left on the phone is taken with the phone. Move it off, then delete the copy that’s left.

Restoring onto another phone

Restore happens during setup, on a fresh install.

Install Anonomi Messenger and open it.
On the screen asking for your name, tap Restore from a backup.
Choose the backup file.
Type the recovery code. Thirty digits; spaces and dashes don’t matter.
Confirm. The app shows the filename and when the backup was made.
Set a password for this phone. It does not have to be the one the account had before.

After restoring

Anything that arrived after the backup was made is not there. A backup is a snapshot, not a sync.
Panic, stealth and lock settings are not there. Set them up again.
This is now the phone that owns the account.

Only one phone can use an account

If the phone the backup came from still exists, delete the account there first.

Two phones using the same account cannot both be reached. Your contacts will drop the messages.

When restore fails

What you see	What it means
Not an Anonomi Messenger backup	Wrong file
The code did not open the file	Either the code is wrong or the file was altered — there is no way to tell which
The file stops before the end	Incomplete copy. Copy it again, in full
Made by a newer version	Update the app, then try again
Made by a version too old	Cannot be brought forward
Not enough memory	Another phone may manage it. The file itself is fine
Not enough space	Free some up and try again

If the account cannot be written to the phone, nothing of it is kept.

Practical guidance

Make a backup before you need one. There is no way to make one from a phone you no longer have.
Store the file and the code in different places.
Treat the file like a key, not like chat history.
Make a new backup after anything you’d hate to lose. Old backups restore old accounts.
Move the file off the phone and delete the local copy.
If you’re in a high-risk environment, think hard about whether a backup that can be found is worse than an account that can be lost. Not backing up is a legitimate choice.