By Matt CannonShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA new Android update allows employers to access and archive messages on your phone.
Google released the new feature, known as RCS Archival, allowing employers to gain access to RCS (Rich Communication Services), MMS (multimedia) and traditional SMS (largely text-based) messages sent via Google Messages on fully managed work phones.
Newsweek contacted Google via email on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
The update has raised new concerns over workplace privacy in the United States, and challenges assumptions many employees hold about the confidentiality of their texts on company devices.
Workplace emails have long been monitored for compliance and legal reasons. Employees, however, often considered their text messages more private, especially with the increasing use of encrypted services.
The update, aimed at supporting compliance with regulations from bodies such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, marks a significant shift in how employee communications may be monitored on corporate-issued phones.
...What To Know
The update allows employers access to traditional SMS texts, as well as MMS and RCS messages that includes higher-quality media sharing.
Google said the change is "essential for meeting stringent regulatory requirements," navigating legal discovery during lawsuits, and responding to data requests such as those under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
It applies only to devices issued and managed by employers, not to personal Android phones.
Employees are notified whenever the archival feature is active via a "clear notification on their device," Google said in a November 18 blogpost announcing the update.
The feature integrates with specialized third-party apps—such as Celltrust, Smarsh, and 3rd Eye—which are configured by IT departments on work-managed phones, and automatically archive all message content, including edits and deletions.
"With archiving happening on the device itself, end-to-end encryption in transit is maintained," Google added.
Is WhatsApp Affected?Platforms such as WhatsApp and Signal are not impacted by this system. These applications manage their own encryption and data independently from Google Messages and Android’s built-in text systems.
However, analysts warn that if backups of these apps are not encrypted or are wrapped into a device backup, such as iCloud without Apple’s Advanced Data Protection, those messages could become accessible to whomever manages the backup.
Microsoft Teams Update Shows Your Location
A new feature on workplace app Teams that allows your employer to know when you are at the office is scheduled to come into effect in February next year.
Announcing the 365 Roadmap update in April, Microsoft said: "When users connect to their organization's Wi-Fi, Teams will soon be able to automatically update their work location to reflect the building they're working from."
It added that the feature "will be off by default" and workplace administrators will decide whether to enable it and require end-users to opt-in.
What People Are Saying
Google, in its official product blog on November 18, said: "Our new solution allows third-party archival apps to integrate directly with Google Messages on a work device. When 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."
What Happens Next
The RCS Archival feature is live on Google Pixel devices and select other Android phones through compatible enterprise configurations. Google has indicated that more archiving partners will be available in 2026.
Employees with company-issued devices are expected to get notifications alerting them to archiving activity.
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