WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging service, with more than 2 billion active users worldwide, 75 million of whom live in the USA. By using WhatsApp’s archived chat feature, users can protect their private messages from third parties, it’s not a fully corporate level archive, but can still prove useful. As more and more businesses and institutions embrace the remote working culture due to the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic, WhatsApp is being used as a secure mobile messaging solution to overcome their communication challenges, with 18 million Google Play & App Store in September 2021.
So far, Whatsapp has released a list of privacy and security features such as end-to-end encryption and disappearing messages which became concerns of regulatory bodies who need businesses to comply with regulations related to recording electronic communications. The ‘Archived Chat’ feature was added to the feature list in July 2021.
The archived chat in WhatsApp lets users archive their messages, protecting their private messages from third-party scrutinization. But, for companies looking to secure sensitive data being shared by their employees, this can be another hurdle with which to comply in recording electronic communications.
Why did WhatsApp release this feature?
According to the WhatsApp release statement, the main purpose of the archived chat is for users to organize their inboxes well and give more focus to their most important chats. WhatsApp has developed this feature because users demand that their archived messages are separate from the main chat thread, even when they get new messages.
Archived chats thus allows users to hide their individual or group chats from their chats list separately in the ‘Archived chats’ folder. But that doesn’t mean the archived chats get deleted or backed up to the SD card. Users will not receive notifications for archived chats unless they get mentioned or they reply to the messages. Until the user manually sets to unarchive the chat, it will stay hidden from the main chat list.
How are users using the archiving feature of WhatsApp?
For privacy-concerned individuals, this feature is a great way to ensure no external party will be able to snoop around their private chats. For example, when someone has to hand over this or her smartphone to someone who does not want to see their incoming chats, this feature comes in handy.
Users also use this to hide annoying and noisy group chats without leaving them. It will give users more control over their messages and let them prioritize the most important connections.
Steps to archive chats on WhatsApp
Following are the steps to archive a chat or group
- Open WhatsApp and select the individual or group chat that you want to archive by tapping and holding on to it
- Select the downward arrow icon to archive the chat.
You can view the archived chats in the ‘Archived’ chat section. The number next to it indicates the number of unread messages in the archive.
To archive all chats, go to the chats tab and tap on More > Settings. Then tap on Chats > Chat History > Archive all chats.
Users can also unarchive the chat by selecting and clicking the Unarchive button indicated by the upward arrow icon.
The Impact of the new WhatsApp feature on privacy regulations
WhatsApp is considered a secure mobile messaging method used by banks, broker-dealers, healthcare, and many more organizations. Therefore, every communication via WhatsApp could be considered a business record. Although the archived chat feature is useful in the privacy and security of communication of individuals, there is a growing risk that it can be misused in workplace environments.
For example, employees could use this feature to hide fraud and illegal business chats and even delete those messages without getting caught and avoid being held accountable for such misconduct. If this feature is misused in such a manner, it will be impossible for legal authorities to collect the evidence in such hidden chats.
Therefore, if there is no mechanism to capture those messages, businesses and institutions risk financial penalties from regulatory bodies. For instance, regulatory bodies like SEC, SFC, FINRA, FRCP, HIPAA have imposed strict rules on businesses to monitor text messages, capture video calls and archive them to ensure mobile compliance. If they do not adhere to the rules, they can be subject to significant monetary penalties.
For example, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) charged a California-based registered broker-dealer, JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, for failing to record and archive business-related text messages communicated between their registered representatives and customers. During the investigation, the authorities’ main concerns were the order sizes, the timing of trades, and the pricing of certain securities. Failure to adhere to mobile communication compliance regulations made them liable to pay a$100,000 fine.
Another example is the case of the broker-dealer named Paul Anthony Falcon, who was found using WhatsApp messenger to conduct securities-related business with customers at Aegis Capital in Boca Raton, Florida, where he was employed. According to the FINRAs’ findings, Aegis has not been able to capture those communications. Therefore, Falcon has violated FINRA Rules 4511 and 2010 (governing commercial honor and trade principles). As a result of this violation, FINRA fined Flacon $5,000 and suspended him for 30 days.
While this new WhatsApp feature does not entirely prevent businesses from monitoring text messages, they need to take proactive measures to ensure they are captured before they completely disappear from WhatsApp chats. This is why TeleMessage provides archiving options for instant messaging solutions like WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, or Signal.
How TeleMessage helps businesses comply with WhatsApp privacy regulations
There are many WhatsApp privacy regulations that organizations must comply with to avoid financial penalties. For example, they must capture voice calls, mobile messages, monitor phone calls, and enable services like WhatsApp archiving and WeChat archiving. Regulatory authorities can then use this captured information in case of any suspected misconduct by employees.
However, it is not easy for them to do that if they do not have a strong WhatsApp message capturing and archiving solution. The TeleMessage’s WhatsApp Archiver provides a tailor-made solution to capture and archive messages, including group chats and mobile call monitoring. It works as a standard WhatsApp application and ensures employees can still send work-related communications easily and quickly.
The benefits of using WhatsApp Archiver in your business include:
- Archive all WhatsApp communications
- Use WhatsApp to communicate with customers, employees, and stakeholders
- Search, track and retrieve WhatsApp messages in the corporate archive
- Deposit WhatsApp messages with any email archiving vendor
- Full administration and reporting
About TeleMessage
TeleMessage captures and retains mobile content, including mobile SMS messages, voice calls, and WhatsApp, and WeChat conversations from corporate or BYOD mobile phones to ensure compliance with various data protection regulations. The messages are securely and reliably retained within TeleMessage servers or forwarded to your choice of archiving data storage vendor.
Our mobile archiving products securely record content from mobile carriers and mobile devices for various ownership models (BYOD, CYOD, and employer-issued). With our multiple archiving solutions, you can always find the right tools or blend for your requirements:
- Network Archiver
- Enterprise Number Archiver
- Android Archiver
- WhatsApp Archiver
- WeChat Archiver
- Signal Archiver
- Telegram Archiver
TeleMessage offers cross-carrier and international mobile text & calls archiving for corporate and BYOD phones. Visit our website at www.telemessage.com to learn more about our mobile archiving products.
