Where do deleted text messages go ???

S

Sim One

Registered User
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Can they be recovered by the phone provider?

No reason for asking, just curious.

Sim
 
I doubt the phone providers are keeping a copy of each text message being sent across their networks?

I'd assume once deleted then they are gone forever from your phone. Well its possible they could be recovered even after deletion (the same way deleted files from you PC can be recovered as the PC only deletes a "pointer" to the file rather than overwriting the part of the disk where your file was stored. The file will eventually be overwritten by some other new file but most people think once you delete the file that is gone. This is not true.).

Anyways I would have thought by now that if all these text message were saved by the operator then you would have heard about some court case that used recovered text messages as evidence for something.
 
If its not the law already, it will be soon, that every telecom provider must keep a copy of everythign you do for 5 years. This is in response to security threats...and would include text messages.
 
Unless [broken link removed] was rescinded in the meantime all telecommunications providers must retain certain records of user traffic/communications for at least three years.

I read somewhere recently that there are c. 4 billion text messages sent in Ireland each year. Time to buy shares in hard disk manufacturers perhaps...?
 
Keeping call record detail for five years I can live with. The disk drives needed aren't that big.

Storing the content of the texts/email or transparently forcing everyone on a public network to go through a web proxy so their browsing can be monitored scares me. It would cost a fortune to implement in network infrastructure without the use of cludges like traffic tromboning that would make the service less resilient to network failure.

That's besides the civil liberties concerns.

UndeleteSMS
 
Say an average of 100 characters per message........8 bits per character....... gives 3200 billion bits..........or 400 billion bytes......... a grand total of one 400 GB drive should do the trick.......wouldn't go rushing out to buy HDD shares on this basis:p
 
The data retention issues are currently being looked at by the EU parliament. Ireland currently requires telcos and ISPs to record the information for 3 years. The EU is looking to bring this down to 6 months. http://www.out-law.com/page-6141

Note the requirement is not to retain the content of the messages but the headers, i.e. who sent to whom and when

C
 
Clubman

Not sure if the above question was directed at me, but yes it includes emails.

C
 
Sorry - it was directed at Observer because I wondered if the content of email messages was to be retained too but you have answered my query above anyway.
 
Obviously if emails are to be retained, then the storage required becomes significant. But it's a trivial issue for text messages.


Actually this line of thought suggests some possibilities......... a concerted campaign by privacy conscious individuals could make the policy prohibitively expensive.......... An automated program to send gigantic emails backwards and forwards would clock up huge amounts of storage space........
 
Observer said:
Obviously if emails are to be retained, then the storage required becomes significant. But it's a trivial issue for text messages.


Actually this line of thought suggests some possibilities......... a concerted campaign by privacy conscious individuals could make the policy prohibitively expensive.......... An automated program to send gigantic emails backwards and forwards would clock up huge amounts of storage space........
Click to expand...

Observer, the legislation only requires for the headers of the emails to be retained not the content. Anyway the cost will be borne by the governments if they follow the UKs example http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39153874,00.htm

C
 
Isn't that how some guy working in 02 made a mint from? He had access to the SMS archive and retrieved the texts from David Beckham to Rebecca Loos and sold them to the Sun for a fortune.
 
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