Documenting Email & Text Messages

Deposit Photos. Used with permission.

THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

Before entering this discussion, it is important to have some knowledge of laws pertaining to publishing emails and text messages. So, my first message to you is this: Make sure you have a basic, working understanding of private facts before you publish them.

Just because someone sends you an email or a text message does not mean you have the right to make that information public. Please pay attention to privacy notices in emails like this:

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in this message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

Even if an email does not have such a notice, I strongly recommend treating the email like it does. And while text messages are not necessarily labeled, consider respecting them in this way as well. In an article published by the Digital Media Law Project, this subject is addressed in tremendous detail in the article, “Publication of Private Facts.”

Again, I am not an attorney, and therefore cannot dispense legal advice. As an author, former journalist, former corporate executive and scribal commander, I can speak from my professional and Christian ethical insight. Unless those messages contain criminal information, threats to your life or someone elses, or are being used in an upcoming court proceeding, make every effort to get permission.

I have witnessed some horrible situations in which people, just like us, have published books and messages on social media containing private emails, pictures and text messages that divulge personal information about other people that could put them in personal danger, or otherwise ruin their lives – whether fact or fiction. Sometimes, those digital documents have led to defamation and bitter legal battles.

Remember, credibility is everything! We need to make sure every single piece of documentation is not only accurate but legal to use to the very best of our ability.

As you move forward in documenting, do not ignore this aspect of the process. In journalism, it is the role of the reporter to identify what THAT WAY is. It is your role also. Finally, legal issues in this area are ongoing, constantly challenging. So, you may want to keep up with the trends.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Guide to Laws About Posting Online Citizens Guide to Laws on Obscenity The Legal Conundrum of Publishing Text Messages Justices: People have the right to privacy in text messages

DOCUMENTING TEXT MESSAGES & EMAIL

I save everything.

The digital age is one in which “documentation” is critical on so many levels – legally, personally, and professional as more and more people communicate through text, email and video. Now that so many legal cases use text and email as evidence, the way we “see” this kind of documentation is evolving.

We need to pay attention.

TEXT MESSAGES

Most smart phones offer the ability to archive text messages.

I do, however, recommend apps like iMazing for the iPhone or DroidTransfer to access and print those messages. These apps can be download to your PC or Mac to backup and manage the files on your smart phone. As it relates to your text messages, once these files are installed and synced with your phone you have many options available to you including downloading your text messages in conversational style (as they appear on your phone) as a pdf o viewing and searching on your computer.

As a result, you have the option of archiving your text messages as a download, printing them (or a specific conversation) as a PDF, printing them, as a hardcopy and other options. From there, you can decide the best way to store your conversations. The best part is that these messages print with dates, names of contacts, etc. So much of the “documentation” is done for you.

EMAIL CONVERSATIONS

Documenting and archiving email is even easier.

As long as you have access to the email client and password on any device, emails can be downloaded in bulk for some services or printed per conversation with all identifying information (date, month, year, contact, ect.

Printing might be the best option for some email services or clients. To print to PDF, you will need to download and install a PDF Printer & Reader on your device. There are many free ones on the market.

Yahoo, for example, does not make downloading or archiving email in bulk as easy, although it is possible. A third-party client is needed. This is the case for several popular email clients.

I use Gmail. This company has a service called TAKEOUT. Follow this link if you have a GMAIL account and you can download absolutely everything associated with your account including email and save it to your computer.

When saving email or text messages, the best option is to download or print what you need immediately after the conversation and file that information in your preferred process immediately.

A FINAL WARNING

Again, this is not legal advice but a word of wisdom. If you plan to publish, print, or use email conversations in a scribal project GET PERMISSION from the sender in writing when possible. A rule of thumb about using other people’s part of the conversation or anything you did not author, is to make sure you have “permission” to do so.