A Paradigm Shift in E-mail Treatment?

While sending self-destructing messages is not new, that capability is now available to the general Internet-user population. Services such as BigString and StealthText promise protection by making it difficult for recipients to capture message contents -providing a form of security via obscurity. However, unscrupulous individuals can take advantage of these services to deceive unsuspecting recipients. In addition to examining the aforementioned services and their claims, this paper considers possible benefits and drawbacks and the ethics of their use in a variety of circumstances. It suggests appropriate forms of disclosure and alternative technologies to facilitate them. Steps recipients can take to protect themselves are also considered. Possible ramifications affecting how e-mails and other forms of messages are treated in legal processes are discussed.