diff --git a/lib/utilities/utils.dart b/lib/utilities/utils.dart
index 02a6019..f7c28d9 100644
--- a/lib/utilities/utils.dart
+++ b/lib/utilities/utils.dart
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import 'dart:convert';
 import 'dart:io';
 import 'package:pdf/pdf.dart';
 import 'package:pdf/widgets.dart' as pw;
@@ -8,6 +9,8 @@ import 'package:reciper/utilities/database.dart';
 import 'package:share_plus/share_plus.dart';
 
 class Utils {
+  static const Encoding _textFileEncoding = utf8;
+
   static Future<void> userExport() async {
     Directory directory = await getTemporaryDirectory();
     String appDocumentsPath = directory.path;
@@ -16,10 +19,10 @@ class Utils {
     File file = File(filePath);
 
     DatabaseService db = DatabaseService();
-    db.export().then((String result) {
-      file.writeAsString(result);
-      Share.shareXFiles([XFile(filePath)]);
-    });
+    String result = await db.export();
+    var fileBytes = _textFileEncoding.encode(result);
+    await file.writeAsBytes(fileBytes);
+    await Share.shareXFiles([XFile(filePath)]);
   }
 
   static Future<int> userImport() async {
@@ -31,9 +34,10 @@ class Utils {
         await openFile(acceptedTypeGroups: <XTypeGroup>[typeGroup]);
 
     if (file != null) {
-      String backupContent = await file.readAsString();
+      var fileBytes = await file.readAsBytes();
+      String backupContent = _textFileEncoding.decode(fileBytes);
       DatabaseService db = DatabaseService();
-      db.import(backupContent);
+      await db.import(backupContent);
     }
     return 1;
   }