# What is the difference between export and backup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Uncategorized\ **Created:** [October 26, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://forum.delta.chat/t/what-is-the-difference-between-export-and-backup/130 "2018-10-26T07:31:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mirodin](https://forum.delta.chat/user_avatar/forum.delta.chat/mirodin/32/32_2.png) [@mirodin](https://forum.delta.chat/u/mirodin)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://forum.delta.chat/t/what-is-the-difference-between-export-and-backup/130/1 "2018-10-26T07:31:51Z")
I am using DeltaChat for some time with my family but never managed to get the difference between “Manage keys” and “Backup”. I get that via “Manage keys” I can export my private key but what does backup do on top of that? When I dump a backup the resulting file is ~1MB whilst a exported key is just a few KB. ---
**Author:** ![d1d4c](https://forum.delta.chat/user_avatar/forum.delta.chat/d1d4c/32/39_2.png) [@d1d4c](https://forum.delta.chat/u/d1d4c)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://forum.delta.chat/t/what-is-the-difference-between-export-and-backup/130/2 "2018-10-26T15:27:38Z")
I guess, a backup contains all chats data. ---
**Author:** ![mirodin](https://forum.delta.chat/user_avatar/forum.delta.chat/mirodin/32/32_2.png) [@mirodin](https://forum.delta.chat/u/mirodin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 6:55am UTC](https://forum.delta.chat/t/what-is-the-difference-between-export-and-backup/130/3 "2018-10-27T06:55:47Z")
Ok makes sense but I thought since all mail is on my server I would not need them to be included in a backup. ---
**Author:** ![r10s](https://forum.delta.chat/user_avatar/forum.delta.chat/r10s/32/1513_2.png) [@r10s](https://forum.delta.chat/u/r10s)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 11:08am UTC](https://forum.delta.chat/t/what-is-the-difference-between-export-and-backup/130/4 "2026-02-21T11:08:59Z")