We Should All Be Wary of Disappearing Messaging Apps

A messaging app that sends encrypted messages that destroy themselves is in the middle of a courtroom debate.

Wickr is a messaging app that sent encrypted messages, which later destroyed themselves, made specifically for professional workplaces. Essentially, it was like Slack, but the employers had the power to determine how long the messages stick around for before they’re deleted. According to a recent pre-trial hearing between Waymo and Uber, Uber was using Wickr and another app called Telegram to discuss sensitive information. Waymo believed Uber used the app to discuss trade secrets the company had stolen from Waymo. But it brings up the larger question of how courts deal with new forms of electronic communications.

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