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It's not meant to be scary - the telephony network has always had it built-in, and cellular networks for SMS are clear text. However, you should be aware that

It's not meant to be scary - the telephony network has always had it built-in, and cellular networks for SMS are clear text. However, you should be aware that telecommunication companies are required, by law, to divulge information. If the government wants to know your call history or every text you've ever sent or received, they're required to give up that information. Similar story to ISPs. Yes, it's how these networks were built - but that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do. E2EE services exist, and frankly SMS is shit technology by modern standards anyway. For ISPs, we have secure DNS and tools like VPNs and Tor. When it comes to if this information can be used for nefarious ways, the answer is overwhelmingly yes. If we ask if it is being used for nefarious ways, the answer is we don't know. These networks are naturally built on pure trust. Do you trust your government, your ISP, your telecom, etc.

immibis 1y ago
Everyone is required by law to divulge information that helps a court case upon request by the court. The process is called subpoena. And yes, you can go to jail if the judge thinks you deleted something because of the fact you thought you were going to get subpoenad.
- const_cast 1y ago
  This is true, but practically not relevant. If you store data in clear text, then there is risk there. If you don't, then there is much less risk. Not everything is the same as everything else. I would never write my passwords in clear text and send them all over the internet. But, somehow, when we talk about SMS and Phone, this concept is lost. Again, there are E2EE services available. These can be subpoenaed, but there's no data available. In addition, there are automated surveillance methods such as Prism and whatever modern-day equivalent certainly exist. Me personally, I would not be surprised if all your texts are surveilled en-masse, no warrant or subpoena required. Again, that's only a risk if you use SMS or other clear text services. So, don't.

immibis 1y ago

Everyone is required by law to divulge information that helps a court case upon request by the court. The process is called subpoena. And yes, you can go to jail if the judge thinks you deleted something because of the fact you thought you were going to get subpoenad.

const_cast 1y ago
This is true, but practically not relevant. If you store data in clear text, then there is risk there. If you don't, then there is much less risk. Not everything is the same as everything else. I would never write my passwords in clear text and send them all over the internet. But, somehow, when we talk about SMS and Phone, this concept is lost. Again, there are E2EE services available. These can be subpoenaed, but there's no data available. In addition, there are automated surveillance methods such as Prism and whatever modern-day equivalent certainly exist. Me personally, I would not be surprised if all your texts are surveilled en-masse, no warrant or subpoena required. Again, that's only a risk if you use SMS or other clear text services. So, don't.