You may think that your conversations on Facebook, WhatsApp, and other messenger services are completely private. However, law enforcement can serve any messenger service with a search warrant to get those messages.
Most messenger apps are no more secure than email or SMS messages are in terms of keeping your conversations out of the hands of those who might want to use your words against you. This includes Twitter DMs, Instagram Direct, Facebook Messenger, Discord messages, and Snapchat.
Note that we’re not just talking about public posts, semi-public posts, or even posts to your friends. We’re talking about private messages, conversations you might have had with some sort of expectation of privacy.
Secure Options
You do have options for messenger services that are more secure. For example, an app known as Signal uses end-to-end encryption to ensure that the service itself can’t read your messages or listen to your calls.
When law enforcement demands data from Signal, they run into a wall . Typically, they ask for a “broad set of personal information that is typically easy to retrieve in other apps simply doesn’t exist on Signal’s servers…including the target’s correspondence, contacts, groups, calls, and addresses.”
The ACLU helped Signal develop its ultra private service. We urge you to consider using it even if you aren’t taking any action that you think you might get you into legal trouble. If police officers take it into their head to charge you with a crime, there’s no telling what conversations they’ll twist and use against you in order to prop up their case.
Failing that, consider having your conversations in person, with your phone well away from you. Remember that your phone might well be recording every word you say .
Get Help Today
Has this information reached you too late? Have you been charged with a crime? Do you fear your private conversations will be used against you?
Reach out to our firm of experienced criminal lawyers today. Be sure to give us any conversations you think law enforcement might try to access or might be interested in. We can start crafting our defense against those conversations if we’re armed ahead of time.
We work hard to help our clients navigate criminal charges, no matter how serious they might be. We give the same dedicated service to all clients, without judgment. Contact us to get help today.
See also:
Can The Police Force You to Unlock Your Phone in NYC?
Prosecutors May Turn to Your Smart Devices to Gather Evidence Against You
Big Data May Play a Big Role in Your Criminal Case
