Most companies have policies that require the retention and storage of work-related communications to comply with various legal requirements, to submit them to management for various purposes, and to respond to regulators if necessary. Implementing these policies has been complicated by the use of personal devices and the advent of new technologies that go beyond typical email and text messages, especially messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Signal, and Telegram.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has raised concerns about companies that fail to properly preserve business-related communications. These include communications on personal devices, encrypted messages, and “ephemeral” messages, messages designed to go fagot.

DOJ recently issued guidance on the…