Text messages also referred to as SMS/MMS messages are sent unsecured across the phone companies network. These messages are not encrypted and stored by the phone company for future use. For example, a lawyer can request a copy of text messages from a specific phone(s) if it relates to a lawsuit. I have always assumed that the US government could have access to these texts as well if related to a case. In the back of my mind, I always assumed that this access could be expanded for other uses by the government.
This recent article shows that there are those in government that want to use this data and access it for their own purposes. It’s concerning that so few people are talking about privacy and government overreach. It’s also concerning that so few people are willing to take small steps to protect their data. Recently, I wrote an article on Signal. When both parties are using this app their text messages are encrypted from one phone to the other phone (end to end encryption). It’s a simple solution to protecting text messages that we all should use. If you would like more information on Signal, check out my article on it.