Find Out If Your Boss Can Download Your Slack DMs

Don’t say anything on Slack you wouldn’t say to your boss’ face, because there’s a chance he can download everything—even your DMs.

Last week Slack changed a policy, meaning Slack Workspace Owners who pay for a Plus plan can now download all message history, including direct messages between you and your co-workers. This was possible before, but employees were notified when it was happening. That’s no longer the case, meaning your boss could be reading you talking crap about him right now.

Here’s my friend Bryan Clark, writing for The Next Web:

Slack is killing off the old tool and replacing it with one that would allow customers to access whatever they want, including the contents of DMs and private channels—all without notifying employees. But it doesn’t apply to everyone. A quick check of the Workplace Settings will let you know just how worried you need to be about the new changes.

Bryan points users to click the down arrow at the top-left corner in Slack, then click “Customize Slack.” From here go to Menu > Workplace settings and scroll down, then scroll down to the bottom. If your workplace is using the “Standard” or “Free” plan, your boss can’t download your DMs without permission of the entire staff. If your workplace is a “Plus” plan, your boss can download your DMs. Oh oh.

Of course, there’s nothing to stop your boss from upgrading to Plus later on, so it’s probably a good idea to not say anything on Slack you wouldn’t say to everyone you work with. If you must gossip, consider using some other service.