implement Android Backup Service so that you can have own backups of apps settings

[owncloud]

implement Android Backup Service so that you can have own backups of apps settings

[davivel]

We have a lot of things with higher priority. Besides, we should consider the implications for privacy of users.

[gdamjan]

Please leave it open, I might even find someone to try and implement this (for GSOC maybe).

What kind of implications for privacy of users do you mean?

[davivel]

Android Backup Service is a Google service; data about settings are uploaded to Google Service, with the Google's Privacy Policy involved (linked here https://developer.android.com/google/backup/index.html, in the end).

ownCloud tries to be careful with the handling of users data. Settings are just settings, but privacy is privacy, anyway.

[tamcore]

Users always have the choice to enable or disable the Android Backup Service. So it shouldn't be a problem when it get's implemented.

Also: Why not using the App-PIN (if defined by user) to encrypt the settings? Then everything should be fine.

[gdamjan]

@davivel
Maybe I misunderstood what's possible in Android, but my idea is that the owncloud android would provide the backup service, by using your own "owncloud" for storage.

[davivel]

@gdamjan
Maybe it is possible (I don't know), but that is not what is described in that link.

@Tamcode
App-PIN is only 4 digits long, too short to act as an encryption key.

Anyway, we still have a lot of pendings issues much more important than this.

[tamcore]

@davivel Why not allowing a longer pin?

[davivel]

The documentation linked here is not valid for the purposed feature. The Android Backup Service is meant to backup data at Google servers. We couldn't find nothing there to help us in providing a backup feature with ownCloud as backend.

Besides, providing backup of device contents is far away of our current focus, and this topic is inactive since a long time.

[Evi1M4chine]

Of course this is possible. But what do you expect from PHP and ”cloud” ”developers”? lol.

A proper solution would be, to use rsync over ssh, or sshfs. A Linux/BSD server will usually have those tools pre-installed or very much readily available. Android has rsync apps in the app store, and they should be able to use secure connections, and preferably even have an automatic schedule. Problem solved.
If you use a dynamic DNS service (like freedns.afraid.org), and make sure your client checks your server’s certificate, you can even have the server in your personal home, and still do it when you’re far away from said home.