Copies of old Text Messages

[1WhoNeedsToKnow]

How can I get actual text messages that were sent from my ATT accounts back in early 2008? I want to see what was actually said, not just when they were sent and received.

[Jgibson7]

The only way is with an court order for a legal case.

[1WhoNeedsToKnow]

I was afraid of that. Even though the numbers were on my own account, and I paid the bills, I still cannot get them without an order.

Is that an educatred gues or the law that you are quoting? And if the law, does it vary by state, or is it a cantitutional/privacy issue?

[Zandora ACE - Guru · Accepted solution]

---

1WhoNeedsToKnow wrote:
I was afraid of that. Even though the numbers were on my own account, and I paid the bills, I still cannot get them without an order.

Is that an educatred gues or the law that you are quoting? And if the law, does it vary by state, or is it a cantitutional/privacy issue?

---

It's actually moot.

Per AT&T, they delete text messages off their servers as soon as they are delivered OR within 72 hours.

So unless the text messages are within the last 72 hours, even a court order won't get you what you need.

The only other way is to install spyware on the phone in question. You may receive texts going forward, but you won't be able to get anything in the past.

The only reason Kwami had his text messages preserved historically was because he was using a government issued phone and text service, which preserved text messages.

Basically, had he used his own phone on AT&T or Sprint or other public wireless provider, he wouldn't have been caught. There would have been no texts preserved on servers.

[1WhoNeedsToKnow]

"educated guess" was what I meant to say...

[1WhoNeedsToKnow]

Thanks for the information...Funny how Kwame's exploit have spread far and wide...

[pgirl]

How do you install Spyware on a cell? I was just trying to get the same thing copies of some text messages sent/received.

Thanks

[Zandora ACE - Guru]

---

pgirl wrote:
How do you install Spyware on a cell? I was just trying to get the same thing copies of some text messages sent/received.

Thanks

---

Google "mobile phone spyware" and you should get some hits.

Most mobile spyware require the software to be installed on the phone being spied upon and also that the phone is a Windows Mobile phone.

My advice? If you feel the need to spy, get out of the relationship. You can't have a good relationship without trust, so why even expend the energy to spy?