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Texts are no longer private.<\/p>\n
Getty<\/p>\n
Updated on Dec. 3 with advice on other encrypted messaging platforms following this update, including WhatsApp.<\/p>\n
Microsoft triggered a viral furor<\/a> when it revealed a Teams update to tell your company when you\u2019re not at work. Now Google has done the same. Forget end-to-end encryption. A new Android update means your RCS and SMS texts are no longer private.<\/p>\n As reported by Android Authority<\/a>, \u201cGoogle is rolling out Android RCS Archival on Pixel (and other Android) phones, allowing employers to intercept and archive RCS chats on work-managed devices. In simpler terms, your employer will now be able to read your RCS chats in Google Messages despite end-to-end encryption.\u201d <\/p>\n This applies to work-managed devices and doesn\u2019t affect personal devices. And in certain regulated industries it just adds RCS archiving to existing SMS archiving. But employees in regular organizations view texting as different to emailing, especially given the expectations around end-to-end encryption. That\u2019s no longer the case.<\/p>\n This underlines the widespread misunderstanding of end-to-end encryption<\/a>. The security protects your messages when they\u2019re being sent, but once they\u2019re on your phone, they\u2019re decrypted and available to anyone controlling the device.<\/p>\n ForbesCISA Warns Samsung And Pixel Users\u2014Update Or Stop Using Your PhoneBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n Google says this is \u201ca dependable, Android-supported solution for message archival, which is also backwards compatible with SMS and MMS messages as well. Employees will see a clear notification on their device whenever the archival feature is active.\u201d<\/p>\n Suddenly, the perk of being given a phone at work is not as good as it might seem. While employees have long been aware of the risks in over-sharing on email \u2014 a woefully insecure technology that is easy for employers to monitor, texting has been seen as different. And this isn\u2019t just for regulated industries. All organizations can play along.<\/p>\n Google<\/a> says \u201cthis new capability, available on Google Pixel and other compatible Android Enterprise devices gives your employees all the benefits of RCS \u2014 like typing indicators, read receipts, and end-to-end encryption between Android devices \u2014 while ensuring your organization meets its regulatory requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to the furor around this update, Google told me “this update does not change or impact the privacy of personal devices. This is an optional feature for enterprise-managed work phones in regulated industries where employees are already notified that their communications are archived for compliance reasons. <\/p>\n There has long been a concern that employees have been turning to shadow IT<\/a> systems to communicate with colleagues \u2014 WhatsApp and Signal in particular. This latest update won\u2019t help make that situation any better. <\/p>\n In the last 48 hours, I have been asked repeatedly now whether this change affects other messaging platforms, specifically WhatsApp. The answer is no. This update is specific to RCS within Google Messages, and works by enabling \u201cthird-party archival apps to integrate directly with Google Messages on a work device.\u201d<\/p>\n ForbesMillions Of Androids Hijacked By Botnets\u2014Click Here To Check YoursBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n SMS and now RCS messaging is built into the phone\u2019s OS itself, handled by Android (or iOS). Over-the-top platforms are not. They control their encryption and decryption. Their databases can be included in a general phone archive, but don\u2019t need to be. <\/p>\n This is specific to general texting. \u201cPreviously,\u201d Google says, \u201cemployers had to block the use of RCS entirely to meet these compliance requirements; this update simply allows organizations to support modern messaging \u2014 giving employees messaging benefits like high-quality media sharing and typing indicators \u2014 while maintaining the same compliance standards that already apply to SMS messaging.”<\/p>\n But for RCS, it\u2019s exhaustive. Anything sent can be archived. \u201cWhen configured by your IT organization on a fully managed device, the archival application is notified upon the receipt of each RCS message, not only when a message is sent or received, but also if a message is edited or deleted too.\u201d So, making changes after the fact doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n This highlights that while Google Messages may appear as the same kind of encrypted (within Android) message platforms as WhatsApp or Signal, it\u2019s not. It\u2019s an overlay on carrier-level messaging, and it\u2019s deeply embedded into the phone\u2019s OS.<\/p>\n \u201cOlder methods for archiving text messages often relied on carrier-level logging,\u201d Google says, \u201cwhich is incompatible with modern encrypted messaging. Our new solution allows third-party archival apps to integrate directly with Google Messages on a work device.\u201d In other words, it removes the privacy that encryption has brought for users messaging on work-managed devices.<\/p>\n While WhatsApp is not affected by this change, you do need to beware WhatsApp backups that are wrapped into a general phone backup. If those backups are not encrypted, then your saved messages can be accessed. <\/p>\n So, for example if you backup your iPhone to iCloud without Apple\u2019s Advanced Data Protection in place \u2014 the security the U.K. has removed, then backups can be accessed. WhatsApp offers fully encrypted backups that are standalone from a phone\u2019s backup. If you use that instead, then your old messages are fully secure.<\/p>\n