FSB restored deleted messages via smartphone notifications
According to a report by 404 Media, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents successfully recovered deleted data from a suspect's iPhone smartphone. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
Although the user had deleted the Signal app and enabled the automatic message deletion function, special service representatives managed to obtain the necessary information. According to investigators, these messages were retrieved not directly from the app itself, but from the notification memory saved by the smartphone's operating system.
Analysis shows that only received messages were restored, while sent ones were not found. This situation clearly confirms exactly where the data was obtained from.
The point is that the preview texts that appear on the smartphone screen when messages arrive are stored in the operating system's memory. The Signal app may protect and delete conversations within itself, but as soon as a message reaches the recipient's device, the operating system copies it to its own memory to display it to the user.
The smartphone's operating system, rather than Signal, is responsible for this process. The app's promises of privacy and security apply only to data under its control.
The operating system, however, would have already saved this information for its own security and service purposes. This issue is not unique to one messenger but is observed in all secure communication tools.
End-to-end encryption protects messages during the transmission process, but once a message reaches the recipient's device, it is decrypted. From that moment on, the message becomes plain text data and remains stored in the device's system memory.
Therefore, users who desire a high level of privacy are recommended to disable the notification display function or take a more serious approach to device security. No matter how perfect technological protection tools may be, the device's operating system and its settings can always remain the weak link in the security chain.
