Enhancement Request : automatic settings backup OR if change settings, then auto export settings in the known export directory

[giovandrew]

Checklist

• I made sure that there are no existing issues - open or closed - to which I could contribute my information.
• I made sure that there are no existing discussions - open or closed - to which I could contribute my information.
• I have read the FAQs inside the app (Menu -> About -> FAQs) and my problem isn't listed.
• I have taken the time to fill in all the required details. I understand that the request will be dismissed otherwise.
• This issue contains only one feature request.
• I have read and understood the contribution guidelines.

Feature description

Hello,

I am a regular user of your app, and I am writing to suggest an improvement.

Currently, the app does not offer any feature for exporting or backing up user settings. However, when switching smartphones, this requires reconfiguring everything manually, with the risk of losing personalized settings.

I would therefore like to suggest two ways to improve this:

1. Add a feature to back up settings - ideally one that runs automatically and periodically (with a frequency configurable by the user) - rather than just a simple manual export.
2. Allow users to freely choose the destination folder for the backup file, to facilitate its integration into a personal backup workflow (local storage, cloud, ...).
3. Allow to choose the maximum number of backups to keep.

Why do you want this feature?

These features would safeguard settings, save time, prevent forgetfullness, and simplify the process of switching to a new device.

If you want some ideas, I find really convenient the automatic settings backup of the app Signal, called "back up on this device" ;)

Thank you very much for considering this suggestion, and I look forward to hearing your feedback!

Best regards

Additional information

No response

[giovandrew]

Hi there, I’m checking in to see if anyone else might be interested in this suggestion for a new feature, and to share some interesting feedback I received regarding another Android app, where I suggested adding a feature to automatically back up app settings and/or data.

Here the answer that I recieved :
"Counter-question: all apps that have the export/import feature have placed it on an action triggered by the user or, at most, when changes are made in the app. Why should the app specifically have full automation for it?

I'm afraid that with this feature, we'll be bringing in even more complexity than we already have in our features.

For me, the favorite remains: the user changes something in their settings and the app automatically creates an export file in a folder defined by the user, and that's it. What the user does with the exported settings afterwards is entirely up to them (like saving them somewhere other than the device, e.g.)."

Here is my answer :
"The reason I’m suggesting to add this feature is that I now have 14 apps that offer a backup feature, but very few of them offer automatic backups. I’m certainly not the only one in this situation (especially if you want to avoid having to carry out certain backups via Google), and having more apps that offer automated backups would save a great deal of time.

When you only have 2–3 apps where you need to trigger a backup, it’s relatively easy not to forget to do them, and they’re fairly quick to carry out. But with 14 apps… that’s a completely different matter even if it's one time per month, so I reckon it would be a real time-saver to have a backup feature like the one I’m suggesting !

My aim is to have fewer things to do, fewer things to think about, and to save time on the sort of tasks that, quite frankly, are of no interest to anyone !"

Here's the last answer that I recieved :
"I created a new issue with this description : it would be great if we can have an export of settings if the user changed something inside the UX, so the user do not always be the trigger for this action. Change settings then do auto export in the known export directory"