Text message discovery covers SMS, MMS, and application-based messaging such as iMessage and WhatsApp. Collection typically requires device access, since carriers retain message content only briefly if at all.
Messages may reside on the device, in cloud backups, or in enterprise archives.
Alternative Names:
SMS Discovery, Mobile Message Discovery
Why it Matters?
Carriers do not retain message content in any usable way, so the device or its backup is the only source, which makes prompt preservation essential. Business communication routinely occurs by text even where policy prohibits it, and custodian interviews rather than system inventories are what surface it. Personal device involvement raises the possession, custody, and control question that BYOD policies should but frequently do not address.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Do carriers retain text message content?
How is business texting identified?
