Kakao has expanded the timeframe for deleting KakaoTalk (hereafter referred to as KakaoTalk) messages from 5 minutes to within 24 hours, raising concerns about the difficulty of securing criminal evidence. This is because deleted KakaoTalk messages are discarded from the server after 3 days, making recovery impossible. However, there are voices within and outside the industry stating that the infinite responsibility cannot be placed solely on the private company Kakao to enhance investigative convenience. The change in Kakao's policy to increase user convenience was deemed a necessary measure for business management to address the continuous decline in KakaoTalk usage time.
◇ Messages deleted after 3 days cannot be recovered... concerns about securing criminal evidence
On the 21st, industry sources confirmed that when messages are deleted from KakaoTalk, Kakao deletes the conversation content from its server after 3 days.
Of course, even if the conversation records are deleted from the server, if the mobile phone used to delete the KakaoTalk messages is secured, efforts can be made to recover the conversation records stored in the internal logs of the device through digital forensics. However, technically it is impossible to recover 100% of the conversation content. Particularly, in cases where a device is destroyed to leave no criminal evidence, it becomes virtually impossible for investigators to secure criminal evidence. This has led to discussions among legal circles about the anticipated difficulties in securing criminal evidence.
A source in the legal community noted, "Even if investigators recognize criminal circumstances immediately after the messages are deleted from KakaoTalk, the 3-day timeframe to obtain a search warrant from the court to confirm the deleted message content from Kakao's server is absolutely insufficient," adding, "It will become difficult to catch evidence even if criminals conspire to commit a crime over KakaoTalk and delete messages."
Another legal expert said, "For instance, even if defamation or insult occurs in a KakaoTalk group chat, unless the victim takes a screenshot, the perpetrator can delete the message within 24 hours. Even if reported to the police after 3 days, it is likely that no evidence can be secured." He further commented, "In the past, in the case of the 'Burning Sun' incident, where some celebrities distributed illegal video footage of sexual intercourse with ordinary people in KakaoTalk chat rooms and caused social controversy, KakaoTalk conversations were adopted as evidence. However, moving forward, with the ability to delete illegal footage within 24 hours, it may lead to the perfect crime."
Kakao explained, "We accepted users' requests to allow message deletion at any time and expanded the message deletion time from 5 minutes to 24 hours."
◇ Kakao sees decreasing users... "Expanding message deletion time is a desperate measure for survival"
Some in the industry suggest that as KakaoTalk usage time decreases, Kakao may be taking measures to reorganize services as much as possible to meet user demands for customer defense. According to app analytics platform Mobile Index, the average monthly usage time of KakaoTalk per user dropped by 13% from 800 minutes in July 2021 to 709 minutes in July of this year.
In 2023, Instagram surpassed KakaoTalk in usage time. In July of last year, the average monthly usage time of Instagram per user was 989 minutes, a 72% increase compared to July 2021 (575 minutes). The average monthly usage time of Telegram increased from 168 minutes in July 2021 to 175 minutes in July of this year, while during the same period, the number of monthly active users (MAU) rose from 2.51 million to 3.62 million, marking an approximate 44% increase.
In light of this crisis, Kakao is pushing for a redesign of KakaoTalk in a feed format similar to Instagram, which shares daily life. Currently, Instagram allows users to choose a feature that automatically deletes all messages in the DM (direct message) chat window after 24 hours. Telegram also allows users to delete messages at any time without a time limit.
Kim Kyung-won, a distinguished professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sejong University, stated, "Kakao likely changed its existing policies as a desperate measure for survival. They recognized the harsh business reality that if they do not compete on equal terms with global platform companies, they cannot survive even in the domestic market."
Meanwhile, WhatsApp, a messaging service under Meta with 2 billion users, took measures in 2021 to allow users to choose an automatic deletion feature for all messages after 24 hours. At that time, it caused controversy for raising issues in securing criminal evidence, prompting Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg to state, "Not all messages need to be permanently stored."