The growing popularity of ephemeral messaging apps is creating serious compliance risks for financial services firms. These platforms, designed to auto-delete messages after a short period, are increasingly used by employees—sometimes even for work-related communications. With regulatory bodies mandating that all business communications must be retained, companies must urgently address the challenges posed by these tools.
MCO (MyComplianceOffice), which unifies key compliance functions in a single system, recently highlighted the compliance challenges of ephemeral messaging.
Ephemeral messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and WeChat have gained immense popularity globally, with WhatsApp alone amassing more than two billion active users by the end of 2024. These apps prioritise user privacy by automatically deleting messages, leaving little to no digital footprint. However, this functionality undermines standard business practices that rely on communication trails, especially in highly regulated industries like financial services, MCO stated.
Unlike emails or SMS, which can be recovered through IT systems, ephemeral messages vanish quickly unless intercepted by third-party systems. Even workplace platforms like Microsoft Teams and Slack, although not inherently ephemeral, can be configured to delete content after a limited time, complicating compliance further. Additionally, these apps vary in the control they give users and administrators over retention, forwarding, backups and metadata, adding another layer of complexity to governance.
Regulators have made it clear: all communication, regardless of the platform, must be stored and made available upon request. The use of disappearing messages can be viewed as an attempt to evade scrutiny—intentional or not.
Beyond compliance, communication surveillance plays a key role in fostering a risk-aware culture. Advanced surveillance technology allows compliance teams to proactively monitor employee behaviour, flagging early indicators of misconduct such as insider trading, off-channel messaging, and noncompliant marketing. This ensures not just compliance, but also early intervention before issues escalate.
To mitigate these risks, firms should develop and enforce clear policies tailored to their risk profile, MCO said. Employees must be trained on acceptable use of messaging platforms, particularly in bring-your-own-device environments. Companies should disable auto-delete settings, conduct regular audits, and deploy surveillance tools capable of capturing communications even across ephemeral channels.
MCO offers comprehensive solutions to support communication compliance. The platform can integrate with leading messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat, capturing and retaining messages in line with global regulatory requirements. MCO’s tools include metadata tracking, AI-powered detection of off-channel communication attempts, and flexible retention policies suited for different jurisdictions.
The eComms Keep module securely stores all communications, including those from ephemeral platforms, in a tamper-proof format with full audit trails. Meanwhile, eComms Review enables real-time search, monitoring and analysis across platforms, arming compliance teams with actionable insights and ensuring audit readiness.
In a landscape where regulators are closely watching communication practices, financial firms must invest in the right technologies and procedures to manage the risks posed by ephemeral messaging—or risk facing steep consequences.
For more information on ephemeral messaging compliance challenges, read the full story here.
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