The SMS Connector Built for Compliance Archiving
Capture every SMS, MMS, and mobile message sent and received on corporate devices and BYOD programs into a WORM-compliant, searchable archive that meets SEC, FINRA, HIPAA, MiFID II, and TCPA requirements — closing the compliance gap that email and chat archiving leave open.
🌟 Featured in Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Data Management
Connectors
Data Governance
Enterprise Clients
Talk to a Connector Expert
The Last SMS Archiving Problem You'll Solve
SMS and MMS are where business decisions happen off the record. Advisers confirm trades by text. Clinicians coordinate patient care over mobile. Executives negotiate deal terms in message threads that exist only on personal devices. And when regulators come looking — or litigation puts those communications at issue — organizations discover that their archiving program covers email and chat but has no visibility into mobile.
The consequences are severe. FINRA has levied hundreds of millions of dollars in fines against broker-dealers for failing to preserve text message communications. Healthcare organizations have faced HIPAA enforcement for ePHI shared via SMS without appropriate governance. And spoilation sanctions have been imposed in litigation when SMS evidence was not preserved.
Archon’s SMS connector solves this by capturing text and multimedia messages at the point of transmission — from corporate SIM cards, registered employee devices, and BYOD programs — into a governed, tamper-proof archive that exists independently of mobile carriers and device platforms.
- Capture SMS and MMS from iOS, Android, and corporate SIM-enabled devices
- Archive BYOD text messages from registered employee devices without MDM control of personal content
- Preserve full message content, media attachments, delivery status, timestamps, and sender/recipient metadata
- Apply WORM immutability with SHA-256 cryptographic hashing and trusted timestamps at ingestion
- Archive SMS alongside email, Teams, Slack, WhatsApp, and 200+ enterprise data sources in a single governed store
Capabilities
Everything You Need for SMS Compliance
Multi-Method Capture for Corporate and BYOD Devices
For corporate devices, Archon captures at the network level via MDM and carrier APIs — no on-device agent needed. For BYOD, a lightweight iOS/Android agent captures business messages from registered numbers without touching personal content. CPaaS platforms (Twilio, Vonage, Bandwidth) connect directly via API.
WORM-Compliant Archiving That Survives Device Changes
Every SMS and MMS is hashed at ingestion and stored in WORM format with a trusted timestamp — independent of the device, carrier, or message thread. Records survive device loss, wipes, and user deletions. Meets SEC Rule 17a-4, FINRA Rule 4511, MiFID II, HIPAA, FOIA, GDPR, and TCPA.
Cross-Channel eDiscovery Spanning SMS, Email, and Chat
Archon searches SMS, email, Teams, Slack, and enterprise data in a single query. Custodian holds freeze all sources simultaneously, and productions include every relevant message type — no siloed channel review.
Mobile Communication Supervision and Monitoring
Archon applies lexicon-based surveillance across archived SMS, flagging messages referencing trade activity, client relationships, or regulated topics for supervisory review. Every action is logged with a timestamped audit record, satisfying FINRA Rule 3110 obligations.
Use Cases
How Enterprises Use the SMS Connector
01 Financial Services Mobile Communication Compliance
Broker-dealers and advisers capture SMS from corporate and BYOD devices in WORM-compliant format, meeting SEC and FINRA recordkeeping requirements. Supervisory workflows surface flagged messages for review alongside email, with automated retention enforcing the applicable schedule.
02 Healthcare Mobile Coordination Governance
Healthcare organizations archive SMS containing ePHI — clinical updates, care coordination, appointment confirmations — in a HIPAA-governed store with AES-256 encryption, RBAC, and immutable audit logs. The BYOD agent captures business messages without MDM enrollment or access to personal content.
03 Legal Hold for Mobile Communications
Legal places custodian holds directly from Archon, covering SMS alongside email, Teams, and other channels. Records are preserved independently of the device — holds survive phone replacement or factory reset — with no forensic collection required.
04 CPaaS and Business Messaging Archiving
Organizations on Twilio, Vonage, Bandwidth, or other CPaaS platforms archive all inbound and outbound messages via API. Records support TCPA consent and opt-out documentation, dispute resolution, and regulatory reporting across financial services, healthcare, and utilities.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Connection Method | MDM integration (Microsoft Intune, Jamf, VMware Workspace ONE), carrier-level archiving API, BYOD mobile agent (iOS and Android), CPaaS API (Twilio, Vonage, Bandwidth, and others) |
| Supported Platforms | iOS (13+), Android (9+), corporate SIM carrier feeds, Twilio, Vonage, Bandwidth, Sinch, MessageBird, Plivo, and other CPaaS platforms |
| Message Types Captured | SMS (individual and group), MMS, iMessage (where MDM-managed), delivery receipts, read receipts, opt-out and opt-in events |
| Content Types | Text, images, video, audio, vCard contacts, location shares, document attachments, emoji |
| Capture Mode | Real-time ingestion via agent, API, or carrier feed |
| Storage Format | Apache Parquet (open, vendor-independent) |
| eDiscovery | Full-text and metadata search; export to standard legal review formats |
| OCR | Optical Character Recognition for MMS image content |
| Compliance Standards | SEC Rule 17a-4, FINRA Rule 4511, MiFID II, HIPAA, FOIA, GDPR, CCPA, TCPA, SOX, Dodd-Frank, DPDPA |
| Deployment | Cloud, on-premises, or hybrid |
How It Works
Up and Running in 4 Steps
01
Connect to SMS
Select your capture method — MDM integration, carrier feed, BYOD agent, or CPaaS API — and authorize Archon's connector. For BYOD, employees install the lightweight agent and enroll their business number; no MDM enrollment or personal content access required. 02
Configure
Define retention policies, monitoring lexicons, BYOD enrollment rules, and access controls. Archon maps regulatory requirements to specific users, devices, and number types — including per-regulation schedules for organizations under multiple compliance regimes. 03
Capture
Archon begins real-time ingestion immediately. For CPaaS sources, historical messages are ingested retroactively within platform limits. All messages are stored with WORM immutability and full metadata — timestamps, sender, recipient, delivery status — regardless of what happens on the originating device. 04
Archive & Govern
Your SMS archive is searchable, policy-governed, and litigation-ready. Compliance teams search, hold, and export records alongside email, Teams, and Slack in a unified interface. Legal places holds across all channels with a single action.FAQ
Common Questions About the SMS Connector
- 1. Does the BYOD agent access personal content on employee devices?
No. The Archon BYOD agent captures messages sent and received on the employee's registered business number only. Personal messages, calls, apps, photos, and other content on the device are not accessible to Archon. Employees can verify this through the agent's transparent permission model, which does not require access to contacts, photos, or any content outside the registered business number's message thread.
- 2. Can Archon capture iMessage in addition to standard SMS?
iMessage capture depends on the device management model. On MDM-managed Apple devices where iMessage is governed by enterprise policies, Archon can capture iMessage communications through the MDM integration. On unmanaged personal devices enrolled through the BYOD agent, capture is limited to SMS and MMS sent over the cellular network. Apple does not provide a third-party API for iMessage interception on unmanaged devices.
- 3. How does Archon handle SMS archiving when an employee leaves the organization?
When an employee departs and their device or business number is decommissioned, their SMS archive in Archon remains fully intact and accessible to authorized compliance and legal users for the duration of the applicable retention schedule. Archived records are not affected by device decommissioning, number reassignment, or MDM unenrollment.
- 4. Can Archon archive SMS alongside our email and Teams communications for eDiscovery?
Yes. Archon archives SMS in the same governed store as email, Microsoft Teams, Slack, WhatsApp, and 200+ other enterprise data sources. Legal teams run a single custodian search across all channels, with legal holds that span every source simultaneously. SMS messages appear alongside related email and chat in a unified timeline view, giving reviewers the full communication context for any custodian or matter.
- 5. Does Archon support archiving from CPaaS platforms like Twilio?
Yes. Archon connects directly to the APIs of major CPaaS platforms — including Twilio, Vonage, Bandwidth, Sinch, MessageBird, and Plivo — to archive all outbound and inbound messages programmatically. This is particularly valuable for organizations using CPaaS for customer communications that must be preserved under TCPA, financial services regulations, or other consumer communication requirements.
Ready to close your mobile communications compliance gap?
Talk to an Archon connector expert to scope your SMS archiving requirements and see the connector in action.
