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Web & mobile · A semesterAnywhere· Source · Oct 2026

Android users can't easily back up their phone to a computer on their own Wi-Fi.

Android users who want to back up their phone to their own computer instead of a cloud service

Where it stands

  1. Sourced (done)
  2. Kit (done)
  3. Wanted (next)
  4. Building
  5. Solved

How this problem came to be

  1. Found2 sourcesgithub.com/seedvault-app, news.ycombinator.com
  2. Quoted3 claimseach checked against its page
  3. BriefWrittenand what solved looks like
  4. Market2 signals7 reactions on the issue
  5. Kit5 steps21 tools · 6 routes
  6. People0 want0 live it · 0 would test

The problem, broken down

Who it hurts
People who use Seedvault, the open-source Android backup app, or who don't want their backups in a cloud account.
The moment
When setting up backups and the only easy options are a cloud account or a USB stick.
What people do today
People set up their own WebDAV server and find Seedvault won't connect without HTTPS, or use workarounds like Termux and rsync.
Why it's unsolved
Allowing unencrypted connections, even at home, is a security trade-off, and setting up HTTPS on a home computer is hard for most people.
What solved looks like
A way for a phone to back up to a computer on the same Wi-Fi without a public certificate, for example a small desktop helper that serves WebDAV over HTTPS with a certificate the phone trusts after a one-time pairing. Shown working with a full backup and restore of at least 10 apps.

Evidence

Every claim is tied to the source it comes from
Seedvault issue #714: support WebDAV on the local network ↗
  1. 1A Seedvault user who ran a WebDAV server on their PC could not back up to it because Seedvault refused cleartext connections; they said they don't need SSL on their local network.
  2. 2The issue was opened in August 2024 and was still open on 2026-10-09.
Ask HN: How do you backup your Android? (January 2025) ↗
  1. 3A January 2025 Ask HN thread on backing up Android drew answers ranging from Termux with rsync, to Google's built-in backup, to not backing up at all.

Written from the cited sources. Anything they don't say is left as a question, not a guess.

Sources

From a public page with a citation.

  1. [1]Ask HN: How do you backup your Android? (January 2025)
  2. [2]Seedvault issue #714: support WebDAV on the local network
What the source says, in short

A Seedvault user who ran a WebDAV server on their PC could not back up to it because Seedvault refused cleartext connections; they said they don't need SSL on their local network. The issue was opened in August 2024 and was still open on 2026-10-09. A January 2025 Ask HN thread on backing up Android drew answers ranging from Termux with rsync, to Google's built-in backup, to not backing up at all.

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Market read

How big this is, from the evidence

  • GitHub ↗Builders' pull · Medium confidence7 reactions on the issue
  • Hacker News ↗Builders' pull · Medium confidence139 points on Hacker News

How these were measured: Total reactions on the GitHub issue, read from its API. Points on the Hacker News thread, read from its API.

For whoever takes this up

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