How to Enable Restore from Backup on Android & iOS Apps

Learn to Add a common encryption key that is shared by all devices in Mobile apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.

What is the Restore from Backup Option?

When the option Enable Restore from Backup is toogled on, a common encryption key is shared by all devices. This option allows accessing encrypted data if the device is migrated or restored. Appdome has several encryption features, and each feature requires an encryption key in order to encrypt and decrypt your data.

Enabling the option Enable Restore from Backup sets a shared encryption key to all devices, making the access to encrypted data independent from a specific device. When the encryption key is shared by all devices, the access to the encrypted data is available even after a device is restored or migrated. If this option is disabled, each encryption feature will use a randomly generated encryption key for each device and data access will be lost if the device ID will change.

Why Should I Enable Restore from Backup?

Using the Enable Restore from Backup feature can benefit developers who want their encrypted data to be handled by Appdome during app migration or device restorations. Rather than handling the task of writing certain files to the file system again, this feature enables using the same encryption key in order to decrypt the previous files.

Prerequisites to Using Enable Restore from Backup:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Add a common encryption key that is shared by all devices , you’ll need:

• Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
• A license for Enable Restore from Backup
• Mobile App (.ipa For iOS device or .apk or .aab For Mobile)
• Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)

Add a common encryption key that is shared by all devices on Mobile apps using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Add a common encryption key that is shared by all devices without an SDK or gateway:

1. Upload the Mobile App to Appdome.

   1. Upload an app to Appdome’s Mobile App Security Build System

   2. Upload Method: Appdome Console or DEV-API
   3. Mobile App Formats: .ipa For iOS device or .apk or .aab
   4. Enable Restore from Backup Compatible With: Obj-C, C+, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more

2. Build the feature: Enable Restore from Backup.

   1. Building Enable Restore from Backup by using Appdome’s DEV-API:

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Enable Restore from Backup feature as shown below:
      

      Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Enable Restore from Backup feature
      Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required).

      2. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Enable Restore from Backup feature via Appdome Console, to add the Enable Restore from Backup feature to this Fusion Set.

      3. Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set, as shown in Figure 1 above, and get the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):

         Figure 2: Fusion Set Detail Summary
         Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

      4. Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, App Center, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Cirlce CI or other system:

         1. Build an API for the app – for instructions, see the tasks under Appdome API Reference Guide
         2. Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository

   2. Building the Enable Restore from Backup feature via Appdome Console

      To build the Enable Restore from Backup protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.

      1. Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > TOTALData™ Encryption section
      2. How: Toggle (turn ON) Enable Restore from Backup, as shown below.

         Figure 3: Add a common encryption key that is shared by all devices option

      3. When you select the Enable Restore from Backup you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Enable Restore from Backup

         

         Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Enable Restore from Backup protection

      4. Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).

   Congratulations!  The Enable Restore from Backup protection is now added to the mobile app

3. Certify the Enable Restore from Backup feature in Mobile Apps.

   After building Enable Restore from Backup, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Enable Restore from Backup protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Enable Restore from Backup protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:

   Figure 5: Certified Secure™ certificate

   Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Enable Restore from Backup has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Enable Restore from Backup and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app