Data lock-in: Difference between revisions
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→Saved pages in Apple Safari on iPhone: Correct discussion. The other one was about iMessage, not Safari. It was correct before the editor before me replaced it with the Samsung discussion link. |
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The mobile web browser by Samsung stores saved pages in the <code>/data</code> directory. This is a locked-in directory where apps store data only accessible to themselves. | The mobile web browser by Samsung stores saved pages in the <code>/data</code> directory. This is a locked-in directory where apps store data only accessible to themselves. | ||
Users have requested Samsung developers to change its browser to store saved pages in a non-locked-in place that makes them accessible from other applications and makes it possible to create backups, or to let users export copies of saved pages, but Samsung refused to implement this change. Some users have stored thousands of web pages this way before realizing they are unable to create backups or move them to external storage.<ref>[https://archive. | Users have requested Samsung developers to change its browser to store saved pages in a non-locked-in place that makes them accessible from other applications and makes it possible to create backups, or to let users export copies of saved pages, but Samsung refused to implement this change. Some users have stored thousands of web pages this way before realizing they are unable to create backups or move them to external storage.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250806152342/https://forum.developer.samsung.com/t/regarding-saved-webpages/5304/1 Regarding saved webpages - Samsung Internet - Samsung Developer Forums]</ref> | ||
Rooting a device would make the <code>/data</code> folder accessible, but this requires an unlocked bootloader. The process of unlocking the bootloader involves a factory reset, which deletes all user-generated files from internal storage. | Rooting a device would make the <code>/data</code> folder accessible, but this requires an unlocked bootloader. The process of unlocking the bootloader involves a factory reset, which deletes all user-generated files from internal storage. | ||
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===Saved pages in Apple Safari on iPhone=== | ===Saved pages in Apple Safari on iPhone=== | ||
Apple refers to saved pages as the "reading list", a name that implies the feature is intended for storing pages only until they are read, not for archival. Like with Samsung, people have asked for an ability to export saved pages. Apple has not responded.<ref>[ | Apple refers to saved pages as the "reading list", a name that implies the feature is intended for storing pages only until they are read, not for archival. Like with Samsung, people have asked for an ability to export saved pages. Apple has not responded.<ref>[https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8293638 How do you EXPORT your Reading List from Safari - Apple Community] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20251010130718/https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8293638 archive])</ref> | ||
===User data in mobile web browsers=== | ===User data in mobile web browsers=== | ||
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On Android, the third-party app "SMS Backup+" can create exports, but they can not be directly stored locally, only uploaded to the middleman GMail, which requires Internet connection and a Google account, and can cease to function at any time due to Google API changes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250314125929/https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/974 Feature request: save to local file · Issue #974 · jberkel/sms-backup-plus · GitHub]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250313124817/https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/1110 SMS -Backup+ unable to log into my email to backup SMS messages · Issue #1110 · jberkel/sms-backup-plus · GitHub]</ref> | On Android, the third-party app "SMS Backup+" can create exports, but they can not be directly stored locally, only uploaded to the middleman GMail, which requires Internet connection and a Google account, and can cease to function at any time due to Google API changes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250314125929/https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/974 Feature request: save to local file · Issue #974 · jberkel/sms-backup-plus · GitHub]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250313124817/https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/1110 SMS -Backup+ unable to log into my email to backup SMS messages · Issue #1110 · jberkel/sms-backup-plus · GitHub]</ref> | ||
On iOS, exporting apps require payment, an external computer, and save as PDF, resulting in much larger files than plain text.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20251111204709/https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255416051?sortBy=rank Export iMessage conversation - Apple Community]</ref><ref>[https:// | On iOS, exporting apps require payment, an external computer, and save as PDF, resulting in much larger files than plain text.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20251111204709/https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255416051?sortBy=rank Export iMessage conversation - Apple Community]</ref><ref>[https://megalodon.jp/2026-0228-1623-45/https://discussions.apple.com:443/thread/255674743?sortBy=rank I want to download my messages to an external drive (flash drive) - Apple Community]</ref> | ||
Chat messages can be archived manually with screenshots and screen recordings, but this takes lots of time and manual work, and the resulting files can not be searched for text and will be much larger in size than a plain text-based export would be. | Chat messages can be archived manually with screenshots and screen recordings, but this takes lots of time and manual work, and the resulting files can not be searched for text and will be much larger in size than a plain text-based export would be. | ||