Murder And Text Messages Are Forever

Remember in the Mission: Impossible movies, when Tom Cruise is given messages that self-destruct into a puff of smoke after he memorizes them? Normal text messages should have that feature. This ill-fated Snohomish County couple is likely to agree with Seattlest: the P-I reports that during a homicide investigation, police investigators checked out the twosome's text message histories and found incriminating evidence that led to first-degree murder charges against them.

The idea of someone going through our own text message history makes us uncomfortable. In fact, whenever we get to considering that scenario, we do the reassuring thing and Delete All Messages. The alleged murderers did the same, but what they didn't realize is that the data you transmit over your cell phone--however "private" it may seem at that moment--resides safely in the bowels of your cell phone company's computers and can be unearthed later if necessary. Even if you attempt to re-write history via a new back-and-forth with an entirely different slant on the events of the day, you're SOL: the old conversation is still around to haunt you, though you can't retrieve it on your phone anymore. (But nice try, Mr. and Ms. Alleged First-Degree Murderers.)

Privacy is such a pleasant illusion, isn't it?

"Best Text Message Ever" by Sheena Mae on Flickr. El Oh El!