Privacy Question
Can Admins read the private messages of the community users?
NO. But it's on the database as text so admin can download the database and view the messages.
Shahjahan Jewel Thank you for the clarification. Therefore, it is appropriate to inform users about this possibility, in order to avoid potential sanctions from the Data Protection Authority.
Fabio Pinna I think it would be even better to call the chat messages: Direct Messages (DMs) not a Private Messages (PMs) since there is no encryption or "privacy" in this case.
BTW: dont forget that when there will be any kind of email notification for chat messages it is also possible to preview email notifications body too.
Shahjahan Jewel Can we expect improvement in the future?
J V what improvements are you looking for?
Shahjahan Jewel Better privacy. As I am in Europe I believe I could get in trouble even if I inform people.
J V that’s not possible in WordPress.
J V it might feel weird as an admin to know you have access to this stuff, but wordpress has a database and the messages need stored in that database. If you've ever used private messages in a space like this or used buddypress or buddyboss or skool, circle, Facebook. There's someone in those organisations who can easily see that data.
I think what we need for the 1:1 Chat GDPR compliance is:
-
Consent & Legal Basis
[ ] Obtain clear, informed consent for processing personal data in chat.
[ ] Provide legal basis for data collection (e.g. consent or legitimate interest).
[ ] Allow users to revoke consent at any time. -
User Data Rights
[ ] Provide access to chat data upon user request.
[ ] Enable deletion of messages and personal data (“right to be forgotten”).
[ ] Allow correction of inaccurate data.
[ ] Allow data portability (download/export chat history).
[ ] Enable users to object to certain types of processing (e.g. profiling). -
Data Minimization
[ ] Collect only essential data (message text, timestamps, etc.).
[ ] Avoid collecting sensitive or unnecessary metadata unless justified (including attachments) -
Security of Processing
[ ] Encrypt messages in transit (TLS) and at rest (e.g. AES-256).
[ ] Protect data with access controls and secure authentication mechanisms.
[ ] Prevent unauthorized access to chat content (including attachments) -
Purpose Limitation
[ ] Ensure chat data is not used for unrelated purposes (e.g. marketing) without additional consent. -
Data Retention & Deletion
[ ] Define and enforce data retention periods for chat messages.
[ ] Ensure message and user data are deleted after the retention period or at user’s request. -
Protection of Minors (if applicable)
- [ ] Implement age verification [16+] where appropriate.
BTW: I am not sure why I see a notification (red indicator) for my own comment here after submitting the above text
J V when a user will be deleted by Admin completly from the Wordpress (wp-admin/users) then all related data should be deleted (end user is unable to delete just the community profile). However it is not easy to export user data without the Admin manual action - it is not out of the box user self service.
J V Yes the database is encrypted, but still accessible to those with access (not sure about facebook but I assume it must be accessible by someone in the organisation). Services like telegram are typically end to end encrypted, but wordpress being sql based I'm not sure that would even be possible. I personally always assume that someone out there could technically access direct messages if they wanted to. It's not a private or secured messaging service, it's just direct messaging between members. Just treat it as a "space" with only 2 members.
There is a 3rd party plugin called Better Messages that integrates with FluentCommunity. It has a menu option that allows the admin to read DMs of the users.
Some people like that option and some dislike it. There are other features in Better Messages that appeal to some admins, which is why they choose it.