Why You Need To Be Careful With What You Send In The Groupchat In 2026

The group chat is a sacred place to share life updates, gossip, talk about your goals and let your friends in on your secrets—but you shouldn’t get too comfortable, because your digital safe space might not be as safe as you think, especially in 2026. Here’s why.

Technically, your WhatsApp, iMessage or Telegram group chats are private. However, that is not exactly the case when your texts can be used as evidence in a court of law. If police, investigators or the government and even your job can find it fit to read through the messages you have between you and your friends, they can do so as long as they have probable cause.

What is probable cause? According to Helfend Law Group, a California-based criminal defense firm, it occurs when investigators provide a reasonable case that more evidence linked to a specific crime can be found within your text chains. For example, if you post content on social media that hints you’ve committed a serious crime, your texts can be used to further an investigation.

Beyond texts, investigators would also have access to your emails, messages in your iCloud and Google Drive backups and social media DMs. Without a warrant, they would be limited to basic account information, per Helfend Law Group.

Here is why this matters in 2026: It is very common now for private conversations about work to happen over platforms like WhatsApp or iMessage, or even on your work channels such as Slack, Teams and your work email. When it comes to your workplace devices, employers have the right to monitor your devices and messages with your colleagues as they see fit. However, this can stretch to your personal devices, too.

There are two ways this could happen. One, as we mentioned earlier, could be if the employer finds probable cause to go through your phone during a legal dispute. This could be for sharing confidential business information or bullying a colleague over social media. Another could be if a member of the group chat sends an incriminating screenshot of something you said to someone at your job, which is far more common than you think.

One case study by a British university, the University of Salford, showed that WhatsApp screenshots of private group chats featuring harassment, bullying or sexual or racist remarks about a colleague can lead to dismissals for employees. In major cases, it can lead to compensation for the employee because of how someone spoke about their boss or employee ove text, proving you should never get too comfortable on your cell.

One NYC-based writer and manager told The Root that, knowing their private messages can be accessed by work, her members of their group chat is very cautious as to what they do and do not say over text.

“I am part of a long-standing group chat with friends I’ve known for over two decades, and even within this tight-knit, trusted circle, we are extremely cautious. We maintain strict, unspoken rules: we never discuss work-related matters, and we absolutely avoid speaking negatively about anyone—colleagues, friends or even public figures in a defamatory way,” she explained.

Continuing, she added that politics is another topic of conversation to approach lightly. “While we do discuss politics, we maintain a very measured and careful approach, understanding that even with the highest level of trust, a screenshot is just a tap away.”

Politics is especially a topic to be careful about after the arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort last week. As we reported, the independent journalists were arrested in connection with anti-ICE protests, making the First Amendment right of free speech and freedom of the press feel under attack.

Adding to this worrying threat, Politico reported that the Trump administration has spent more than $300 million on surveillance tools. These tools lower privacy guardrails so ICE agents can monitor social media, use license plate readers and utilize facial recognition software to identify anyone who may be disrupting agents from doing their job.

Therefore, if you happen to share social media posts or be involved in protests that include anti-ICE sentiments and are arrested for it, investigators could use probable cause to look through your group chats to find more anti-ICE messages to use as evidence.

Even though there has not yet been an instance of people getting in big trouble with the Trump administration because of their WhatsApp messages, it is always better to be safe than sorry.