There’s a lot to consider when choosing an iMessage capture service – but it doesn’t need to be overwhelming. As experts in the field, we’ve compiled four crucial questions to ask any company that’s offering iMessage capture to archive your important data.
Question 1: How many iPhones have you onboarded onto your platform?
If the answer is less than 10,000, you should think of yourself as an early alpha customer. This means that the company will likely encounter high fail rates in onboarding, as well as ongoing periods of major data loss.
Pro Tip: Choose a service with a healthy track record that’s onboarded well over 10k iPhones onto their platform.
Question 2: Who owns the Macs our data is hosted on, and are there users from other companies on them?
If they or their hosting provider owns the Mac, not you, then it violates the iCloud Terms of Service as well as the Terms of Service of all recent Mac Operating Systems. Additionally, if users from other organizations are using those same Macs, that also violates Apple’s Terms of Service for all recent Mac Operating Systems, as well as the iCloud Terms of Service.
Pro Tip: Choose a service that is compliant with iCloud ToS so you’ll never worry about your data being compromised.
Question 3: How many of our users do you put on each Mac?
If it’s more than five, this violates the Terms of Service of all recent Mac Operating Systems. This approach also requires the users to be logged out for periods of time, which can lead to irreparable data loss as well as delays.
Pro Tip: Ideally, there are five users (or less) on each Mac to ensure security and compliance.
Question 4: When a user changes their AppleID password, it breaks the monitoring. How do you detect this, and how can I test that you really can do it?
In short, don’t take their word for it, as it can often be difficult to detect this, especially without violating Apple’s Terms of Service.
Pro Tip: Before choosing a company, make sure they give you a live account so you can test this function.
Navigating the landscape of iMessage capture services demands a strategic approach, and arming yourself with the right questions can make all the difference. Choosing your service wisely ensures not just data security but also compliance with Apple's stringent terms. Stay informed, ask the right questions, and make a decision that aligns seamlessly with your data protection needs.
