Glossary

Text Message Retention

Text message retention refers to the practice of storing and archiving electronic text messages for a specified period of time. These types of messages can be sent and received across a range of digital devices, including smartphones and computers, using any number of platforms such as WhatsApp, iMessage, and SMS. The main purpose of text message retention is to make sure that organizations preserve vital records for legal, compliance, and business purposes.  

Regulatory Requirements

There is a range of regulatory and legal requirements governing text message retention, and organizations must ensure they meet all of them simultaneously. This means balancing the individual’s right to privacy with the need for business practices to be compliant, transparent, and auditable. Here are some of the key regulatory considerations related to text message retention: 

  • Data Privacy Laws: In many countries, data privacy laws such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) impose strict requirements on how organizations collect, store, and process personal data, including text messages. A key feature of this type of legislation is that organizations must get explicit consent from clients to collect and retain text messages. They also have to ensure that, once collected, they are safely stored and that access to them is appropriately limited. 
  • Financial Regulations: Governing bodies strictly monitor the activities of financial organizations, and to ensure they can conduct thorough investigations and audits, rules require the retention of electronic communications, including text messages, for a specified period. 
  • Healthcare Regulations: Many countries have laws requiring the retention of communications related to medical records. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the US mandates that all electronic communications related to a patient be securely retained. This includes any relevant text messages.  
  • Electronic Discovery (eDiscovery): In legal proceedings, text messages can be considered evidence, and organizations may have to produce text message records during litigation or investigations. Being unable to do so can result in legal consequences and reputational damage.

Key Elements of a Text Message Retention Policy

When creating a text message retention policy, there are a number of factors to consider, including:

Text Messaging Purposes

Employees may use text messaging for a range of purposes, and it’s important to understand what all those uses are to ensure that anything required by law is always captured and retained. Potential purposes include:

  • Internal and cross-departmental communication
  • Client communication, including trade confirmations or other personal/financial information
  • Connections with vendors
  • Conversations with colleagues at other companies

The retention policy can be a blanket policy that covers all text messages in a given category, or it can be more specific, depending on the industry’s legal requirements and local government or regulatory bodies.

Devices 

Whether employees use their own mobile phones or company-issued devices, any business-related text messages are subject to the text message retention policy. Companies can decide whether to prohibit the use of personal devices for business purposes or to implement a system that captures only the business texts sent and received from employees’ personal phones.

If the use of personal devices is forbidden, the company must also have a way to monitor and ensure employees adhere to this rule. If they are using personal devices anyway, the company is still liable if those text messages are not properly retained.

Local Legal Requirements

Before drafting a text message retention policy, it is important to review all of the relevant legislation that applies to the company. This will ensure that the policy checks all the relevant boxes and is compliant with regulations, without going overboard and infringing on employees’ or clients’ privacy.

The laws and regulations vary across countries and municipalities, and may also vary by industry. For example, in the United States, financial firms are regulated in part by the Securities and Exchange Commission, while the banking sector in Europe is overseen by the European Banking Authority. European financial companies are also bound by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), which includes directives for storing electronic and phone communications. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for regulating the financial services firms and markets. The relevant regulatory body is likely to also include information on how long companies are required to retain each text message.

Best Practices for Organizations

There are some basic practices that, once in place, will ensure that text message retention becomes an automated part of daily life: 

  • Clear Policies and Procedures: Retention periods, data classification, and the processes for capturing and storing text messages should be carefully detailed. It is also important that employees are regularly reminded of these policies and provided with training if necessary.
  • Consent and Opt-Out Mechanisms: Before collecting text messages, organizations must obtain explicit consent from individuals to both capture and store the data. Also, provide clear, easy-to-access opt-out mechanisms for people who don’t want their text messages retained.
  • Automated Archiving Solutions: Fortunately, there are archiving solutions that automate the capture and secure storage of text messages, so organizations don’t need to rely on manual intervention to ensure they are in compliance. 
  • Encryption and Data Security: With sensitive personal information such as text messages, the organization has an obligation to implement robust data security measures to prevent unauthorized access or data breaches. 
  • Retention Periods: Personal data should be kept only for the minimum time required, so it is important to define appropriate retention periods for text messages in line with regulatory requirements and business needs.  
  • Monitoring and Auditing: Regularly monitor and audit text message retention practices to ensure you stay up to date on changes in laws or regulations. Conduct internal audits and assessments to identify and rectify any compliance gaps or issues.

Key Features of a Text Message Retention Tool 

As with most business processes today, there are plenty of technological tools that companies can use to capture and retain text messages. When choosing the right tool, there are a number of key features that are important to have:

  • Real-time capture – all text messages should automatically be captured as they are sent/received. This eliminates the risk that employees will delete text messages before they can be saved.
  • Robust search feature – once the messages are stored, it’s important to be able to search the files to find relevant messages when needed.
  • Universality – the tool should be able to archive text messages from any kind of device and messaging platform.
  • Automation – being able to flag certain words or phrases for automatic detection and flagging by the system can set a company up for extra efficiency and quicker identification of potential problems.

LeapXpert Makes Text Message Retention Easy

Text message retention is an important part of modern communication management and is essential for both regulatory compliance and business operations. Organizations can’t leave any aspect of this process to chance, as the penalties for falling foul of the law are onerous. While it is important to be diligent in complying with relevant regulations and implementing best practices to securely capture, store, and manage text messages, it is arguably even more critical to choose the right technology.

The LeapXpert Communications Platform maintains a complete record of all conversations between enterprise employees and customers to ensure compliance with data privacy and governance standards. Contact us now to set up a demo.