Text messages are such a basic technology, consisting just of unencrypted text sent over cellular networks. It passes through servers, and various carriers have varying regulations for how long they keep communications on their servers. All of those communications should have gone into the ether in principle, but in actuality, they were stranded on a server.
Everyone wants to join some form of a universal system that is more secure than SMS while still providing all of the current communications capabilities. Rich Communication Services has been proposed as the next big thing to replace SMS technology.
RCS is a communication protocol technology that is used between network carriers and phones. Users will be able to view the images that are sent. They could see what’s being communicated in group texts too.
SMS and Its Downfall
SMS is just the most common divider in which everyone can participate, from a communications point of view. Consider who you text in your own life: friends, family, and people with whom you have a close relationship. So SMS is a convenient way for people to communicate, while not having to follow any protocol.
But there’s a downside as well. When you send a text message, your phone carrier may or may not recognize where it should go based on the phone numbers you provide. They have something called an interconnect word, which means that all of the carriers communicate with one another.
Some companies sit in the middle and take care of everything. Syniverse is one of these businesses. They claim to handle somewhere around 600 billion emails every year. They are also one of the companies that ensure that an SMS is sent from one location to another.
On Valentine’s Day, of all days, this company’s server went down. Instead of the messages simply disappearing, they went to check out the server, had it patched, and then all of a sudden all of these messages appeared.
iMessage and Its Impact on Messaging
Apple secured iMessage and FaceTime interactions across all of their devices with end-to-end encryption. Apple ensured that all communications got encrypted on their devices. Even watchOS was made secure. It meant the messages couldn’t be accessed without a passcode. Apple built iMessage to prevent anyone from decrypting user data while it’s in transit between devices. Users’ messages got automatically deleted after 30 days or a year, or they could retain them on their device indefinitely.
Neither sender nor receiver’s contact information and discussions were accessible by third-party apps that use iMessage. Each participant gets assigned a unique identification by Apple’s iOS operating system. This ID gets reset when the app is uninstalled. iMessage and SMS texts are automatically stored in iCloud for users’ convenience, but users can turn this feature off at any time. Furthermore, the content of iMessage conversations is kept on Apple servers only as long as is necessary to deliver the message.
So Does This Mean My Messages are 100% Secure?
We have seen that SMS has built-in vulnerabilities, and RCS hasn’t been properly implemented yet, and especially not with end-to-end encryption. So this leaves us with iMessage. Apple has upgraded the standard messaging app, focusing on security. It is a much-needed upgrade for privacy-minded individuals.
But alas, all that glitters is not gold. Even iMessage may not be secure from third-party software such as remote monitoring apps. These apps allow users to remotely monitor other people’s smartphone activity on the go. It provides access to a device’s texts, emails and call logs, internet usage activity, and GPS location data. All of this can be done in real-time and historically when needed.
Businesses use these apps to remotely monitor employees so they perform more efficiently and ensure they do not sell trade secrets. They can also use them to monitor their kids so they do not spend exorbitant hours on social media, or fall victim to cyberstalking or bullying.
An employee monitoring app can help protect the business by keeping an eye on workers. There are many different apps available, and all give employers the ability to see what their employees are doing whilst away from their desks. Worker productivity is a concern for every employer, and these apps can help improve staff performance.
Which Remote Monitoring App is iMessage Most Vulnerable to?
Several remote monitoring apps function similarly. But not all are powerful enough to monitor SMS, social media app messages, and iMessage conversations in one complete solution. iMessage can safeguard against most third-party apps but not against XNSPY—one of the most robust remote monitoring apps available on the market right now. It is a monitoring app featured on several lists of trending text message monitoring apps.
Remote monitoring technologies may be used by businesses to maintain track of their employees during critical moments. Many companies use these programs to keep track of their staff and to assist them when they go behind schedule or become stuck on a crucial task.
Employers may utilize XNSPY to keep an eye on their employees to make sure they don’t commit crimes or share private information with others without permission.
XNSPY also ensures that employees only use their email addresses for work-related purposes and do not use them to register for prohibited websites. Employers can also examine the emails to discover whether any of their workers sold intellectual property to competitors.
The app will not require rooting or jailbreaking the device. Users don’t have to jailbreak an iPhone to monitor the iMessage of others when they use XNSPY. Unlike other monitoring apps. XNSPY focuses heavily on delivering the easiest way to access text messages on iPhone and Android devices. Users can monitor text messages in real-time in a streamlined fashion.
It works as an SMS spy without access to the target phone. The app retrieves all the messages backed up on a user’s iCloud and shows them on to a personal control panel. Since iMessage is native to iOS devices, XNSPY will retrieve messages exchanged on Macs, iPhones, and iPads.
Users can delete messages from iCloud by simply pressing the trashcan icon. iMessage is every iPhone user’s messenger of choice. iPhone users do not feel the need to switch to another instant messaging app. iMessage provides a massive emoji collection, multimedia sharing capability, read receipts, and end-to-end encryption. So employees or kids that own an iPhone can have their messages read easily. Since their likelihood of using iMessage is quite high.
For the monitored phone, XNSPY serves as a backup tool. As a result, even if something is erased from it (after it has been backed up on XNSPY’s server from a user’s iCloud). The app will keep a separate log of it. Thus the app can even access deleted messages.
SMS is Outdated But Remote Monitoring is Here to Stay
Rarely do we see conversations taking place via SMS? Almost everyone has mobile data enabled on their phones, and some destinations offer free Wi-Fi. This decreases the use of SMS even further. Social media apps just keep growing further due to the ever-increasing population. Their
Even Rich Communication Services (RCS) is an end-to-end encrypted platform that can be accessed by third-party apps. It’s not a flaw with the system but a necessity that puts monitoring apps in command of the medium.