Can iMessages be retrieved by the carrier or a subpoena?

shara197 wrote:

The receiver is the one they are subpoenaing.

It is likely that the receiver does have those messages and will be forced to turn them over, whether they are on the device, recently deleted folder, or in a backup. I believe the previous comments were responsive to your question of a subpoena being served on the carrier and were correct that they would not have access unless it was SMS, but being served on the receiver is a whole different ball game.

If the receiver is uncooperative or thinks they can get rid of those messages, they would most likely be met with additional tampering with evidence charges and any communication between the two of you could also include tampering with a witness. I'm sure the receiver has been informed of their obligations and will do what is required.

No.

Apple doesn’t have or keep messages sent using iMessage.

The carriers have SMS messages, they have nothing to do with iMessages.

If you backup iMessages to the cloud, your messages are stored in the backup.

That’s correct. AT&T has no access to your iMessages. They DO have access to SMS and MMS messages sent and received on your line.

Instead of focusing on whether they can get the information, you would be much better served to focus on NOT being a criminal or a terrorist.

shara197 wrote:

I’m not!!! There are just some inappropriate text I don’t want out

Subpoena or not, the receiver has the text messages, so they are out there.