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With Microsoft email and messaging, Microsoft servers used to be located onsite, so it allowed employers to query the data sent by employees there.

Does Lync in its cloud version offer any way for employers to log in and read any messages sent by company employees? Or is there something like a database that they can query for that information?

Or is the clouded Lync message data not accessible to employers?

Does the clouded Lync have a web interface for querying messages, or is it more abstract like a database interface?

Yes, I know that IMs aren't secure, but I'm curious what the literal process is for retrieving those messages in Lync, not the general process of retrieving data that applies to any data set.

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Simple answer Yes. Don't treat your work IM like your personal IM. Regardless of cloud or physical onsite installation the logs are available to your employer. If you would not send the IM to your Boss or a member of HR, do not send it. Use other means of IM or communication for personal banter. CYA. Link to MS security paper (pg 6 toward the bottom): White Paper

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  • It's important to note that most employers have no resources to scan a users email and messaging. The most paranoid of employers may employ automated keyword scanning tools that then flag and report content that matches particular criteria, but this is a small subset of the companies who utilize any sort of internal messaging. More likely, the content is archived, and only retrieved upon necessity to support action by the company or action against the company, legal action, usually.
    – music2myear
    Apr 4, 2013 at 14:33
  • But, it's also important to note that work resources, including IM and email, belong first to your company, not to you, and are given with the expectation that they allow you to further the goals of your company. Most employers do not block webmail, and with smart phones, most employers are unable to block personal mail or chat. Keep your personal stuff on your personal accounts and services.
    – music2myear
    Apr 4, 2013 at 14:35
  • Your right, most employers use the cover of "we can see everything you do" to keep people in check. However the time they do check and you are doing something you shouldn't, can cost you.
    – CodeMonkey
    Apr 4, 2013 at 22:32
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Lync stores messages in the Outlook mailbox of the user in question under a folder titled Conversation History. You can view all of these saved messages by expanding your inbox and looking through them.

Everything visible here would also be visible to anyone who has delegated access to your mailbox, which almost definitely includes your manager.

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Depending on how your Lync accounts are setup, I'm sure there is a way for someone with higher permissions to view your data. In Exchange 2003, it was simple(and extremely insecure) to view the contents of mailboxes for the entire organization! Since 2007, MS changed this behavior, and now permissions is delegated from the top down. So in theory, your manager can view your mail along with all other workers in your "group".

Now I'm not overly familiar with Lync, but it seems to operate on this same principal of permission delegation. The fact that the message lives in the cloud doesn't pose any sort of restriction in reading it.

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Not if you dont keep the Conversation History in outlook. You can always move your conversation history to your PST if you want to keep it.

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    This is not true. Lync servercan keep copies of everything very easily... ours does.
    – Fazer87
    Feb 27, 2015 at 16:31

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