This Message Will Self-destruct in 60 Seconds. Remember that line (or something similar) from Mission Impossible? Well, it seems remarkably appropriate after I read an article about self-expiring text messages offered by TigerText, Inc. (no connection to Tiger Woods). The messages disappear from both the sender and receiver's phone after a set amount of time (from 60 seconds to 30 days) so they can't be copied or forwarded.
To use this service, both the sender and receiver must download the free app from http://www.tigertext.com/ . It available for a variety of devices including iPhones, Androids, and Blackberrys. A user sends a message over TigerText's network after first setting the time for the "expiration". The receiver opens the message which starts the expiration process. After the message expires, TigerText servers write over the old message. No copies are stored.
Approximately half a million people have downloaded the service. Among this number, celebrities are using this service to keep their private lives private. Banking and the health care industries are using the enterprise version which cost $10 per month per employee. One group of physicians in the Greensboro, NC Moses Cone Health system use TigerText to communicate about patients on a real-time basis instead of leaving charts for another doctor to read hours later. The expiration of these texts is compliant with federal HIPPA regulations.
TigerText says that it is unable to retrieve any message once that message has expired and is erased from the server. But the company does say that "it would comply with any requests from law enforcement and cooperate with any investigations." It seems to open opportunities for criminals and straying spouses, if you ask me.
The information in this blog was obtained from the article "Secret Texting... Pass It On" by Lauren Schuker in February 4's The Wall Street Journal. Read it at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703740104576122460926972084.html?KEYWORDS=secret+texting
I think you could use this app in the IT field. For example, if two employees are communicating about the administrative passwords. This would allow them to send a text giving the receiver enough time to use or write down the password without the worry of bread crumbs. If their IT administrators use a constantly changing password, this would be a extra "layer" of defense in their communication.
ReplyDeleteI think that is great. With what some of these kids say today should be expired!!!
ReplyDeleteI think this app is great as far as for what Kevin and Nell both said, but I'd be worried about the ones who have bigger secrets like terrorists or hackers.
ReplyDelete