Google lets bosses read staff SMS and RCS chats, even edits and deletions are saved

Google lets bosses read staff SMS and RCS chats, even edits and deletions are saved

Google's latest refresh to its Android messaging system quietly introduced a powerful feature for companies that issue work phones: Now, if your employer has set up a managed Google Pixel or another Android Enterprise device, any SMS, MMS or RCS conversation sent through Google Messages can be auto-archived by the company, and that includes messages that you edit or delete.

Change only applies to company-owned phones: personal devices or phones with a separate work profile are not affected. According to Google, businesses-especially those in regulated industries such as finance, insurance, and government-have a compelling need to archive communications for compliance and legal discovery. In order to make that possible under the Android's end-to-end encryption protocol, Google now allows third-party archival apps to plug directly into Google Messages on managed devices.

Once activated, the archival app tracks all of the message activity: messages sent and received, edited and deleted. Employees are alerted that message archiving has been turned on; encryption continues to protect the messages en route, but when they actually reach the phone, they become visible to the employer's IT setup.

The shock for many workers is that what they had assumed was private messaging on a company device may now form part of a permanent record. Privacy advocates have warned this could blur the line between personal communication and official records management, raising risks for whistle-blowers, activists, or anyone discussing sensitive issues on a work handset.

Meanwhile, employers still insist the feature plays a vital role. For a company dealing with sensitive client information or operating in a strictly regulated environment, archiving communications helps to ensure compliance with oversight rules and protects against internal disputes or criminal acts of wrongdoing. But Google frames the update as a tool of compliance and transparency, rather than surreptitious surveillance.

But still, this feature represents a significant shift in how work phones handle privacy. Many employees who once relied on messaging apps for quick coordination may now reconsider how, or whether, they send non-work messages on devices owned by their company.