How to export your notes and backups

Because Biblelexical has no account and no cloud, your notes live only on your phone. That is a feature for privacy, but it means you are responsible for your own backups. The good news is that the export and import process is simple and gives you full control.

Exporting your data

Open Settings and tap "Export backup." The app creates a single file containing all your highlights, notes, bookmarks, sermons, and reading history. You choose where to save it: your Downloads folder, a cloud storage app, a USB drive, or an email to yourself. The file is yours to keep, move, or archive however you like.

The backup includes everything except the Bible text and study data itself (which you can always re-download for free). It is designed to be compact enough to email as an attachment.

Importing on a new phone

Install Biblelexical on your new device, open Settings, and tap "Import backup." Select the backup file from wherever you stored it, and everything is restored: your highlights are back on the verses they belonged to, your notes are in the margins, your sermons are in the library, and your reading history and streak are intact.

You do not need to have downloaded any extra translations or commentaries before importing. Those are independent of your backup and can be added whenever you want.

When to export

There is no auto-backup (there is no server to back up to), so it is worth making the export a habit. Good times to do it:

• Before switching phones.
• After writing something important.
• Once a month as a general practice.
• Before uninstalling the app.

What about Android auto-backup?

Android's system-level auto-backup is disabled for Biblelexical. This is intentional. We do not want your personal notes and reading history copied to a cloud account without your explicit knowledge. The manual export is the only way to back up, which means you are always aware of when and where your data is going.

The file is yours

The backup is not encrypted in a proprietary format. It is a structured file you could inspect if you wanted to. There is no vendor lock-in, no hidden database, no dependency on a server that might shut down. Your data is truly yours.