Thanks to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act (TIA Act), law enforcement and other agencies can access stored communications with a warrant. This can include "email, SMS or voice messages stored on a carrier's network". In other words, the contents of any communication not encoded via encryption.
If the law enforcement officers go to your cell service provider or Google, they can access information on your text messages and emails if they have a court order. If the police have a subpoena, they can access emails that date back as far as 180 days, whether they are opened or unopened.
Under section 30 of the LEPRA a police officer in conducting a search can examine anything in the possession of a person, including a phone.
But what about the messages that are on your phone right now? They may be fair game: recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and several federal circuit courts suggest that cell phone searches, when performed incident to a lawful arrest, can be reasonable and constitutional under the Fourth Amendment.
With an appropriate court warrant, police are able to remotely tap your phone, and intercept a wide range of data. This includes being able to listen to the calls you make, read your text messages, and analyse other data.
An application to use a listening device must be made in writing and set out the reasons for why the use of a listening device is necessary. The application must also be supported by a sworn affidavit. If the application is granted, a warrant is issued authorising the use of the device.
In conclusion, how far back text messages can be retrieved can vary based on the type of phone and app being used, but they can generally be accessed for up to 10 years.
Instead, courts consider text messages to be the product of the contract for services between the cell phone user and the cell phone provider. Put another way, because text messages would not exist but-for a cellular service contract, they are not considered property.
It's not possible for someone to track your location from a text. However, there are many applications that allow sending and receiving content with the same ease as texting which do share location–intentionally or unintentionally.
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
While it was initially designed to protect consumer privacy and regulate telemarketing calls, it has since been updated to include SMS texts. Under the TCPA, marketers must receive express written consent before sending promotional messages to their customers.
Thanks to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act (TIA Act), law enforcement and other agencies can access stored communications with a warrant. This can include "email, SMS or voice messages stored on a carrier's network". In other words, the contents of any communication not encoded via encryption.
What are your rights? If ABF officials want to search your phone, you can refuse. However, if you refuse to comply with a request for an examination of an electronic device, you might be “referred for further enforcement action”. ABF has the power to detain you and search your electronic devices.
In short, the police can retrieve unread messages within 30 days of you sending them. They can't retrieve read and deleted messages, for the most part.
You hear popping, static, humming, or clicking.
If you hear a great deal of noise while you're talking on your landline, it could indicate a physical wiretap. But if your phone is tapped using software that intercepts your calls at the carrier level, you likely won't hear anything strange at all.
Yes, if the police department has a search warrant, they can use advanced tools and experts to retrieve deleted Instagram chats.
With SMS, messages you send are not end-to-end encrypted. Your cellular provider can see the contents of messages you send and receive. Those messages are stored on your cellular provider's systems—so, instead of a tech company like Facebook seeing your messages, your cellular provider can see your messages.
If you simply delete a text, they are still available. And there are common forensics tools used by both law enforcement and civil investigators to recover them.
Federal law prevents companies from producing these documents without a court order or subpoena. Text message records must be obtained from a party's cell phone provider. An attorney can obtain a court order or subpoena to get the records directly from the service provider.
Your provider or "carrier" keeps records of your cellphone use, including calls and text messages, and even pictures sent from your phone. Almost all cellphone carriers give detailed information about a phone's use in billing statements sent to the owner.
Check if your text was read on Google Messages
You must ask the recipient to enable the read receipts option in their Messages app. Only then can you see if the person has read your text.
Most cell carriers retain content data between 3-7 days. The exceptions are: AT&T, Boost and T-Mobile which have zero days retention.
Keeping Your Data Secure
So, can police recover deleted pictures, texts, and files from a phone? The answer is yes—by using special tools, they can find data that hasn't been overwritten yet. However, by using encryption methods, you can ensure your data is kept private, even after deletion.
Police are law enforcement agencies that have the right to ask for any data for security purposes. Many people hide their information in terms of photos or text messages from the police. However, police can effortlessly recover deleted Photos/Text/WhatsApp messages and almost everything from iPhone/Android.
When you delete a piece of data from your device — a photo, video, text or document — it doesn't vanish. Instead, your device labels that space as available to be overwritten by new information.