Better Backups Native backup profiles for Android apps and folders
Beta — Android 8.0 and up

Backup profiles for the apps you care about. Plus everything else.

Better Backups ships with ready-made profiles for WhatsApp and Telegram — more apps on the way — and the same engine handles any folder you point it at. Mirror to local storage, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or your own WebDAV server. Set the schedule, pick the retention, and let it run.

See what it does Read the FAQ

No accounts, no servers in the middle, no analytics. Currently distributed as a sideloadable APK while we finish the Play Store launch.

Why this exists

Built for the apps that matter — and the folders the rest of Android forgets.

Most backup tools either lock you into one app's cloud, or hand you a generic folder picker and call it done. Better Backups does both well.

Native app profiles, not just folder paths

WhatsApp and Telegram each get a curated profile out of the box — the right folder, the right per-kind media opt-ins, the right restore flow. More apps on the way.

Your folders, your rules

Anything else — DCIM, Documents, an app data folder, a Tasker / Termux / KeePass directory — pairs with the same engine: schedule, retention, destination, restore.

You pick where it lands

Local storage, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or your own Synology / Nextcloud / ownCloud via WebDAV. Mix and match per profile; no Better Backups server stands in between.

What it does

Nine focused capabilities, running quietly once they're set up.

Profile-driven by design — every backup is the product of a profile you authored.

Native app profiles, ready to go

Ship-day profiles for WhatsApp and Telegram — each pre-wired to the right source folder, per-kind media catalogue, and restore flow. More app profiles on the way.

WhatsApp Telegram More coming

Custom-folder profiles

Pair any folder Android's Storage Access Framework can reach — including SD cards and USB-C drives — with a schedule, destinations, and a retention window. Run several profiles in parallel on independent cadences.

Five destinations, any combination

This Phone, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and any WebDAV server (Synology, Nextcloud, ownCloud). Each profile picks its own set; each destination tracks its own success or failure.

This phone Google Drive Dropbox OneDrive WebDAV

Incremental or Mirror

Per profile: Incremental writes a timestamped folder per run (restore any one of them by date), Mirror keeps a single live copy at the destination with optional sync-deletes.

Daily, weekly or monthly schedules

Pick the cadence per profile, or run on demand. WorkManager + a foreground service makes scheduled runs survive screen-off and reboots, with diagnostic hints if battery optimisation gets in the way.

Rolling GFS retention

Each destination keeps a configurable window of daily, weekly, and monthly snapshots. Outside the window, the app prunes both the cloud copy and the matching history row — automatically, after every run.

Manifest-based verification

After every run the app cross-checks each cloud destination's actual contents against the manifest. Missing files re-queue automatically; orphan files (storage no manifest references) are surfaced so you can reclaim space.

Restore wizard, any snapshot

Pick a historical snapshot from any destination, choose what to bring back, and the app drops the files into place. Re-discovers backups from the cloud on a fresh install for cross-device restores.

Encrypted chat archives

Import WhatsApp or Telegram chat exports from the share sheet and read them in a chat-style layout that travels with your backups. Encrypted behind a passphrase only you know; opt in to fingerprint or face unlock backed by StrongBox/TEE.

Destinations

Five backends, all first-class.

Enable any combination per profile. Each destination keeps its own retention rules and credentials.

This Phone Local folder · SD card · USB-C
Google Drive drive.file scope
Dropbox App folder
OneDrive Personal · work · school
WebDAV Synology · Nextcloud · ownCloud
Use cases

What people actually use it for.

Concrete shapes the engine already supports out of the box.

Self-hoster

Nightly to Synology + Drive

Back up DCIM/Camera to a Synology share over WebDAV and Google Drive nightly. Keep 7 daily, 4 weekly, 6 monthly snapshots.

Incremental WebDAV Google Drive
Mirror

Documents → Nextcloud

Mirror your Documents folder to a Nextcloud share. Sync-deletes on, so the cloud copy stays byte-for-byte with the phone.

Mirror WebDAV Sync deletes
Messaging

WhatsApp + Telegram, daily

Both native app profiles, firing at 04:00 to your WebDAV and Google Drive in parallel. Photos and voice notes ride along; the DBs are restorable into the source apps.

WhatsApp Telegram Daily
Privacy & security

Your backups, your credentials, your encryption.

No accounts. No analytics. No servers in the middle. The full privacy posture lives on the privacy page.

  • No accounts, no Better Backups server

    The app talks directly to your destinations. There is nothing to sign up for, no backend to compromise, and no telemetry pipeline collecting your activity.

  • No invasive permissions

    Storage Access Framework only — you pick the folders, the app sees nothing else. No root, no Accessibility services, no broad READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE.

  • Minimum-scope cloud access

    Google Drive uses drive.file — only files the app created. Dropbox and OneDrive use dedicated app folders. Existing cloud contents stay invisible to the app.

  • Credentials in the Android Keystore

    OAuth tokens for Drive / Dropbox / OneDrive, and WebDAV username + password, live in EncryptedSharedPreferences. Hardware-backed on supported phones.

  • Trust-on-first-use TLS pinning for WebDAV

    First connection captures the server's leaf-certificate fingerprint; every later request pins on it. Self-signed certs work without disabling validation.

  • Chat archives encrypted before upload

    Imported chat exports are encrypted on disk behind a passphrase you choose. The cloud destination only ever sees ciphertext. Opt-in biometric unlock keeps the key in StrongBox/TEE.

What this means in practice.

If you back up to a WebDAV server you run, the data path is phone → your server. Nothing else. If you back up to Google Drive, the data path is phone → Drive — Better Backups never sees the data in transit, and the publisher (Code Aspect) never sees it at all.

The activity log records every meaningful action (upload, prune, integrity check, credential change). Copy it from Settings → Logs if you ever need to audit a run.

Getting set up

From install to first scheduled backup, in under three minutes.

  1. Install Better Backups

    The beta ships as a sideloadable APK while we finish the Play Store launch. The FAQ covers the side-load steps — enable "Install unknown apps" for your downloader, open the APK, tap Install.

  2. Enable a native profile, or add your own

    Tap the WhatsApp or Telegram profile to enable it — the source folder, media catalogue, and restore flow are already wired up. Or add a Custom Folder profile and point it at any folder the SAF picker can reach.

  3. Pick destinations, media kinds, schedule, and retention

    Enable any combination of This Phone, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and WebDAV. Choose which media kinds ride along, set a daily / weekly / monthly cadence, and dial in the rolling retention window per destination.

  4. Leave it running

    The History tab shows the last run per profile and the next scheduled one. You'll only hear from the app if something needs attention — a destination went offline, a permission was revoked, a verification turned up missing files.

Questions answered, setup walked through.

The FAQ covers profiles, schedules, destinations, restoring, and what to do when things look off.

Read the FAQ