Windows Mobile 6.5 and Exchange to Auto-Sync SMS Messages

[Rocco Augusto]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://wmpoweruser.com/?p=4136' target='_blank'>http://wmpoweruser.com/?p=4136</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is apparently looking to integrate Windows Mobile more tightly with the Windows computing experience. The newly available Exchange Server 2010 beta has shed some light on an upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 feature - the ability to synchronize and archive all SMS text messages on the Exchange Server! Never again will you have to worry about losing important text messages or having to scroll through endless text-convos just to find a phone number."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/zt/auto/1240563763.usr8.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>The idea of being able to backup your text messages has been a very popular request I have seen throughout the years but I it makes me uneasy to think that any SMS messages that were coming into my Windows Mobile handset were being backed up on an Exchange server somewhere. Email, contacts, calendar appointments and tasks are one thing since I purposely use Exchange to route that information between the cloud, my device, and my various computers. My text messages however have nothing to do with Exchange and it is my own personal feeling that they never should. Any information that was ever of value that was sent to me via SMS - such as a phone number, appointment, or address - was something that I would take the time to put in the appropriate program that managed that information. If I did lose a text message it wasn't that hard to ask the sender to pound out another 160 characters so I could have that message again. Am I the only one bothered by this new upcoming feature? This also brings up another interesting question I have been thinking about for a while now &ndash; how much syncing is too much syncing?</p>

[Fritzly]

In general terms yes, of course this feature raises concerns.
The issue is broader though and, IMO, started when people let their personal life become more and more antrenched with their personal one: you can work fom home, you can access your work computer, files, mail etc. from home; basically you never "close the door and walk out".
Also different Countries deal with privacy rights differently; here in the US is, unfortunately, unknown; in other places is a little better.
Back to Exchange I say that it will be important to see how customizable this functionality will be.

[clintonfitchdotcom]

In principle I like the idea of SMS syncing. It assures me of having my SMS messages should I ever need to go back and get them, especially if I have changed devices or I'm using multiple devices.

The challenge though comes in that the vast majority of my SMS traffic is personal in nature - to my wife, kids, etc - with very little being corporate in nature. Yet I sync to a corporate Exchange server. Do I really want that on a corporate server or worse, can the corporation look at the content of my SMS messages and potentially impact my work status? It's unlikely but it's possible in a worst case scenario.

Couple this with retention laws in many countries. Do private SMS messages that are sync'ed to a corporate server become subject to such laws?

It's sticky for sure....

[Dyvim]

As long as it's something you can disable (and maybe better yet something that is disabled by default), then I see no issue. For some, I'm sure it could be a useful feature. But yeah, as others have said, my SMS messages tend to be personal while my Exchange emails are work. Just as I wouldn't want my personal email (via IMAP accounts like GMail and Yahoo!) to be synced along with my work email to an Exchange server somewhere, I also wouldn't want my personal SMS to be synced.

Now if there were some way to distinguish between personal and work SMS (other than having 2 mobile phone #s), then I would be fine with synching work SMS to the Exchange server.

[Dyvim]

Maybe the wmpower user guy mis-interpreted the information? Reading the feature list (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd298136%28EXCHG.140%29.aspx) for Exchange Server 2010 Beta, I see no mention of SMS synching. What I see regarding SMS is this:

New Outlook Web Access Features


The ability to send and receive text (SMS) messages from Outlook Web Access


New Unified Messaging Features


Missed call and voice mail notifications using text messaging (SMS)


Web Management Interface


Text messaging (SMS) integration

So you can send and receive text messages from OWA, and it will send you an SMS to notify you of missed calls or voice mail messages. But I don't see anything about it synching SMS messages with your phone.

[mmidgley]

i agree that if there is sms sync that it should be something that can be disabled. ms still has trouble sync'ing other data types they already do--why would they take on another one!?

i use txt's as rocco mentioned--stored as a txt until data is copy/pasted to the appropriate app (if any) and then deleted.

i use txt for personal and business use. the fact that the cell system stores and forwards (until my phone is avail) is enough third-party handling of the data for me.

m.

[djdj]

Exchange syncing has always let you choose what to include in the sync. I don't see why SMS would be any different.

[Bob Anderson]

I think this is a good feature. I like to have a history of what I've said. I also like to have the option to control that history, i.e., delete it if I don't want it anymore.

If you are using a work provided phone, and work provided cellular service, and you are sending SMS texts to family and friends you are, technically, at the mercy of what the company wants to do with that data. I have my own hosted exchange server and my own smartphone (and always have) for the simple reason I like to use my phone to stay personally and professionally connected and don't want my personal life at the mercy of an employer. (I do accept a cell phone subsidy from my employer to compensate for the portion of the phone usage that relates to work.)

I almost consider the separation of work and personal life a little like the constitution's provision for separation of Church and State - guard it at all costs - even if it means I have to buy my own hardware!

Ultimately, if you are worried about an exchange server synchronizing your SMS's, then either don't send them using that system or go out and get your own phone/phone service.

[Rocco Augusto]

The challenge though comes in that the vast majority of my SMS traffic is personal in nature - to my wife, kids, etc - with very little being corporate in nature. Yet I sync to a corporate Exchange server. Do I really want that on a corporate server or worse, can the corporation look at the content of my SMS messages and potentially impact my work status? It's unlikely but it's possible in a worst case scenario.

This is spot on with how I feel on the situation. Do I really need the thousands of SMS messages I send to my girlfriend or Twitter synced up to a corporate server somewhere where it has no business being? The legal question you brought up brings up even more red flags for me.

[Bob Anderson]

The legal question you brought up brings up even more red flags for me.

As painful as it sounds, if the company provides your cell phone service, or provides you the phone, they are fully entitled to review any activity used on or by the device. I used to tell my staff: don't say, do or otherwise leave a trail of anything on corporate property that you wouldn't want to have to explain to a judge or lawyer one day.

If you use a company provided phone **OR** company provided service the bottom line what you do on it/with it is subject to company oversight.

[Phillip Dyson]

As painful as it sounds, if the company provides your cell phone service, or provides you the phone, they are fully entitled to review any activity used on or by the device. I used to tell my staff: don't say, do or otherwise leave a trail of anything on corporate property that you wouldn't want to have to explain to a judge or lawyer one day.

If you use a company provided phone **OR** company provided service the bottom line what you do on it/with it is subject to company oversight.

This is the very reason why I am very careful what personal information I sync with my work Exchange. I use a person device and use Intellisync to only sync information with my companies name as a category to my work server. All of my personal stuff doesn't get synced.

Some people that I know do a complete sync with there work server. All contacts, all appointments and tasks. And they don't get why I make such a big deal about it. I don't know what I'll do when my device is no longer compatible with the last version of Intellisync. Neither Activesync or WMDC give me the two way category filtering.

[Twain]

Rocco,

I'm afraid I agree with Bob Anderson and others on this. If you are using a company provided phone, then your company has the right (hopefully with suitable reminders to employees) to "audit" email, text messages, phone logs, etc. If you are doing something with company property that would be embarrassing to you if the company found out, then you clearly should cease that activity. If you don't want text messages from your girlfriend/wife to end up on company servers, then tell them to use only your personal cell phone for text messages.

If you have a personal smartphone and don't want text messages to be backed up on Exchange servers, then I hope Microsoft offers an option not to synchronize or back up text messages.

Twain

[heliod]

First, I remembered same kinds of "big brother" concerns with web-proxy logs, and with logs of blackberries and any kinds of things like this in the past.

I have never heard of anybody using those features to check what users were doing, and even if they wanted to it is such a number of records that it is actually impossible to do any kind of control.

Second: all these features have always been configurable in EAS, so there is no doubt this one, if it really exists (as we can see above it is not sure they are really talking about syncing your SMS messages), will be configurable as well.

Third: maybe I will not be elegible for the title of "the most beloved guy in this forum" after this comment, but am I wrong on thinking that the only people who need to be concerned about this feature are the ones doing something with their phone that they shouldn't be doing? I don't think any employer is interested on messages you have been sending and receiving from your family, friends, or even lovers....

[Rocco Augusto]

If you use a company provided phone **OR** company provided service the bottom line what you do on it/with it is subject to company oversight.

In my situations I have always purchased my own phones and was required to use the company's hosted Exchange for email. That is fine and I understand that which is why I never sent anything through company email I did not want anyone else to see. However I pay for my service and SMS package and since that has nothing to do with the company there is no reason that should be backed up. It is an invasion of privacy.

[Rocco Augusto]

I'm afraid I agree with Bob Anderson and others on this. If you are using a company provided phone, then your company has the right (hopefully with suitable reminders to employees) to "audit" email, text messages, phone logs, etc.

If I worked for a company where they gave me a phone I would agree but every company I have ever worked for that had an Exchange server has required us to buy our own handsets.

Third: maybe I will not be elegible for the title of "the most beloved guy in this forum" after this comment, but am I wrong on thinking that the only people who need to be concerned about this feature are the ones doing something with their phone that they shouldn't be doing? I don't think any employer is interested on messages you have been sending and receiving from your family, friends, or even lovers....

I am concerned about this feature, if it is really a feature, not because I'm afraid someone will see something they are not suppose to see, but instead because SMS messages have nothing to do with Exchange services whatsoever. Sure there is the potential for someone to see something you wouldn't want them to see in your text messages but someone could pick up your phone when your not around and start browsing through your data regardless.

If you're worried about someone finding out something they are not suppose to then maybe you shouldn't send that information over a digital channel to begin with ;)

I guess the part of this that bothers me is that Exchange, that is if this is a feature, can pluck data off of your phone that you might not want them to take off and can store that data up in the cloud somewhere. Now what happens when they decide to go past SMS and start storing other information you might not want them to store? Also once your company has that data what is to stop them from going through it? Maybe I don't want my boss to know I had to stop by the store to pick up eggs.

Heck, and I know this is incredibly far fetched, but what is to stop your company from serving you ads based on your backed up data ala Gmail and Google with email? Granted that would probably never happen but the point is there is a lot they could do with the information that they are not privy too.

The real question is, if this is a feature, will it be able to be turned off on the device level for people that don't want this data backed up?

[Twain]

If I worked for a company where they gave me a phone I would agree but every company I have ever worked for that had an Exchange server has required us to buy our own handsets.

You do seem to be in a special category. It's hard for me to understand how a company would require you to buy your own handset and then mandate that you use their Exchange server! It seems like a company trying to have it both ways. I now totally understand your dilemma and I agree with your concern.

[Eriq Cook]

All though I do find it useful to be able to back up text messages and actually welcome this new feature, I would assume that companies can (and will) give users a choice to disable auto-sync of text messages. Except in highly regulated industries maybe. Only time will tell.

[Rocco Augusto]

You do seem to be in a special category. It's hard for me to understand how a company would require you to buy your own handset and then mandate that you use their Exchange server!

When I wasn't doing freelance I spent a fair amount of time working for smaller start-ups that could not afford to pay the monthly phone bill but wanted us to have push email. So we would buy our phones and pay for our plans and use their servers for emails. Since it was web design and development, everyone who had a phone was going to pay for data regardless so it wasn't like we were being put out financially. It was a win win for everyone since we got to use what we wanted and they didn't have to pay for it :)