SMS Data History

[Djungle]

I was wondering if anyone had a definitive answer to this. I understand that I can't receive the content of a deleted sms but I was wondering if Vodafone keep a log of the dates/time and the number an SMS was sent to an how long they keep it?

For example if I sent an SMS to someone a year ago and deleted it. But now I need to prove that I sent an SMS to that person at that time/date, can vodafone help with this? If so, is there a cut off point after which that data is no longer available to me?

Is it the case that if SMS come free as part of a contract their data is not individually collected?

This is a hypothetical question but I'd like to know the answer to this before I become a vodafone customer

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi,

Vodafone have a Subject to access report that costs £10. 

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/cs/groups/configfiles/documents/contentdocuments/vftst042750.pdf

"Information that is NOT AVAILABLE even under a SAR:

 Content of Calls, SMS, MMS or Voicemail Vodafone is unable to provide you with information about the content of any calls, voicemail, SMS or other messages. Vodafone does not record the content of the calls you make or the wording of your messages."

Is there anything in your previous bills in myvodafone that maybe of use. 

[Djungle]

Hi thanks. I'm still struggling to know exactly what data relating to an SMS is retained and for how long?

[BandOfBrothers]

Vodafone does not retain any content. 

My belief is once the text has left their servers / system to the recipient then it's deleted / removed from their database. The sheer amount of sent / received texts per day must be massive. 

A person can then typically see a see a list of calls and texts on their bill. 

[Djungle]

Thanks again. I'm aware that the content of a text message is never retained. My question was purely about the date and time that an SMS was sent and how long this data is retained, if at all.

I had presumed that they would have a policy covering this but it seems to be nowhere to be found. I did ask an advsior on the vodafone live chat and he said that he believed this type of data was retained for at least 3 years but to be honest I got the feeling that he wasn't really sure. I'm amazed at how difficult it is to get a definitive answer to this question. Appreciate you trying to assist me though. Thanks.

[jeffkinn]

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@Djungle wrote:

This is a hypothetical question but I'd like to know the answer to this before I become a vodafone customer

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Do you have this information from other mobile networks?

Even if they did keep the information for a long time, the chances of persuading Vodafone to go back a number of months would be almostr zero I would think unless it was subject to legal proceedings and it was relevant to a court case.

BUT - if you download your bill every month the itemised usage section gives the date, time and number of every call made and every text sent.

[grolschuk]

For ease of getting to the information, and probably an easier question for customer services to answer.

How long are historic itemised bills available on the billing portal to view?

I can't check due to not having access to the portal, but it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a rolling 6 or 12 month window of past billing info - and that would be a fairly solid answer for your question (even if some obscure system somewhere else keeps the data for longer)

[Djungle]

Thanks. I've tried customer service but I haven't heard back yet.

The next time anyone logs into their account I'd be grateful if they could check and see how far back their historical itemised bills go and whether or not they give the date/time/ and phone number that a text was sent. I'm not interested in phone calls. Just texts.

[Sukhi]

@Djungle

I've just logged into My Vodafone and was able to see full itemised bills which include, calls made, texts sent and data used dating back to March 2016.

[Getafix]

Since moving to new billing Jan2016, SMS are now only listed per day and not timestamp.