Your boss can now read your texts – thanks to Google's new update

Google just rolled out an update for Android that could have a lot of office workers double-checking what they send.

The new feature, Android RCS Archival, allows companies to hook third-party archiving apps into Google Messages. In other words, yes, your boss can technically see your texts, but only if it’s a work-managed device.

If you’re thinking 'time to delete everything', pause. This only applies to company phones. Your personal messages? Safe on your own device.

Here’s what Google’s Ian Marsanyi, senior product manager, had to say: "Our new solution allows third-party archival apps to integrate directly with Google Messages on a work device."

And it gets more detailed: "When configured by your IT organisation on a fully managed device, the archival application is notified upon the receipt of each RCS message, not only when a message is sent or received, but also if a message is edited or deleted too. The archival app then reads the message data and makes it available to your IT organisation."

Basically, any message sent, received, edited, or deleted could be captured by your company for compliance reasons.

Not every messaging app is affected – WhatsApp and others remain private.

Google frames this as a "dependable, Android-supported solution for message archival, which is also backwards compatible with SMS and MMS messages as well. Employees will see a clear notification on their device whenever the archival feature is active."

So the takeaway? Treat work phones like company property. Personal messages are best left on personal devices, and yes, those RCS messages you thought were gone? They might still be visible to IT.

You should also read...

• Gen Z are flocking to these unconventional jobs in order to earn big - and it's working
• If you struggle with procrastinating try this 90-second hack that can 'boost productivity'

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.