The Freedom of Information Act was passed by the United States of America’s Congress in 1966. It permits anybody, whether or not they are a citizen, to obtain records owned and controlled by a Federal agency and its affiliates. Agencies must be able to grant access to public records within a certain amount of time after receiving a records request.
State-level FOIA deadlines can be as tight as one business day, as in states like Texas, or up to ten business days in others like California. These laws require agencies to acknowledge or fulfill public records requests within those windows. In many cases, extensions are limited or not allowed at all.
Why Signal Raises Compliance Red Flags
Signal’s appeal lies in its strong end-to-end encryption and privacy-first approach. However, from a compliance standpoint, it poses serious limitations. By default, the app does not retain messages beyond the device, support centralized storage, or offer any administrative visibility, such as the capacity to monitor call Signal. For government agencies, this creates a dangerous gap in compliance readiness.
Archive Signal Messages to Ensure FOIA Compliance
The key to complying with FOIA and open records laws while using Signal lies in implementing a trusted third-party archiving solution. These platforms are specifically designed to capture secure communications in real time, without compromising the privacy and encryption standards that make apps like Signal so appealing in the first place.
These olutions integrate directly with Signal to collect and preserve all message content—texts, media files, voice notes, and attachments—as they are sent and received. This proactive, real-time capture ensures no message is lost, including call monitoring. Once collected, the data is securely stored in a centralized, tamper-evident archive accessible to compliance teams.
Moreover, third-party archiving solutions provide the oversight necessary to meet internal audit requirements and legal discovery needs. Many also support corporate and personal (BYOD) devices, allowing agencies to monitor all official communications, regardless of where they occur.
Secure Your Communications Before the Deadline Hits
The need to balance privacy and transparency is becoming increasingly complex. Tools like Signal were never built with compliance in mind, yet they are being adopted by agencies legally required to maintain open access to communications.
Fortunately, external archiving solutions now enable using apps like Signal responsibly. These tools bridge the secure messaging experience that users want and the legal retention requirements that agencies must follow.