Off-channel communications
Bring business conversations into view.
Capture and supervise business conversations on the mobile and messaging channels your firm supports, with an approach that fits your device policy.
Ellen Cole9:41 AM
Can we talk about moving my old 401(k) into an IRA?
Dana Reed9:44 AM
Yes. I will send the rollover options.
Captured record
Archiving
CapturedParticipants
- Channel
- Text message
- Kept as
- Native format
- Thread
- Oct 14 · 9:41 AM
Review queue
Branch 114
- Dana Reed and Ellen ColeText message · Oct 14MOMarcus OkaforOwner
37 of 40
top global asset managers use Red Oak
1,550+more than 1,550
regulated firms choose Red Oak.
16 years
of regulator-facing operating history
Recognition and client feedback
8 years
in a row on Inc. 5000's fastest growing companies
84
Net Promoter Score
Visionary
2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Communications Governance and Archiving
When does a business conversation become an off-channel risk?
A business conversation is a record whatever app or device carries it. The risk starts when business moves to a text or messaging channel the firm does not capture or supervise.
Text messageDana Reed’s phone · Enrolled
Ellen ColeOct 14 · 9:41 AM
Can we talk about moving my old 401(k) into an IRA?
CapturedReaches the Branch 114 review queue
Unapproved messaging appNot configured by the firm
Ellen ColeOct 14 · 9:41 AM
Can we talk about moving my old 401(k) into an IRA?
Not capturedOutside the firm’s records
The rules
- Exchange Act Rule 17a-4(b)(4)
- FINRA Rule 3110(b)(4)
- FINRA Rule 4511
- Advisers Act Rule 204-2(a)(7)
They turn on what a communication relates to. They do not name an app or a device.
01
When clients choose the channel
Start with the channels your firm needs.
Mobile capture archives iMessage, WhatsApp and text messages from company and personal phones, including RCS on iPhone, in native format. Your firm's policy decides which channels are approved, and capture covers the phones your firm enrolls.
- Edits, deletions, reactions, media and voice notes are kept with each conversation.
Kelderwick Partners archive
Dana Reed and Ellen Cole
Text messageOct 14Captured
Ellen Cole
Can we talk about moving my old 401(k) into an IRA?
Dana Reed
Yes. I will send the rollover options.
WhatsAppOct 16Captured
Ellen Cole
Thanks again for today. Talk Friday?
Dana Reed
Friday works.
iMessageOct 15Captured
Ellen Cole
Do I need anything for Friday’s call?
Dana Reed
Just your latest statement.
02
When devices call for different approaches
Match the approach to your device policy.
Personal phones. With Trusted Contacts, an employee marks personal contacts once, and those conversations are never captured. Business conversations on the same phone are.
Company phones. Mobile capture runs without Trusted Contacts, on the channels and phones your firm enrolls.
- Both approaches aim for capture within the scope your firm configures.
Personal phone
Trusted Contacts · Dana Reed
- ECEllen ColeBusiness contactCaptured
- MMomMarked personal by Dana ReedNever captured
- BCBook clubMarked personal by Dana ReedNever captured
Company-issued phone
Jake Price
Enrolled- iMessageConfigured by the firmCaptured
- WhatsAppConfigured by the firmCaptured
- Text messagesConfigured by the firmCaptured
03
When a captured conversation still needs review
Turn captured conversations into a review process.
Captured conversations reach the same review queues as email, and a reviewer reads each one as a thread against your firm's own policies. A reviewer makes every decision, and where Mira is used its reasoning sits beside it.
- Each conversation stays in native format.
- Each review action is recorded on the audit trail with a name and a time.
Branch 114 review queue
Text and email
- Dana Reed and Ellen ColeText message · Oct 14MO
- Q4 outlook for clientsEmail · Jake Price · Oct 14MO
Ellen Cole9:41 AM
Can we talk about moving my old 401(k) into an IRA?
Dana Reed9:44 AM
Yes. I will send the rollover options.
Read againstMobile messaging policy
AIWhere Mira is used
The conversation asks for rollover options. No policy is matched.
Closed, no actionMOMarcus OkaforReviewer
- 2:40 PMReached the Branch 114 review queue
- 3:05 PMClosed, no actionMarcus Okafor
Find the right approach for your devices and channels.
Bring your channel policy, the phones your people use and how your team reviews messages today.
More on capture, review and records.
BYOD and Trusted Contacts
Business conversations captured on employees' own phones, personal ones never.
Read moreCommunications supervision
Captured messages reviewed against your firm's own policies.
Read moreBooks and records
How Red Oak helps preserve, find and produce communications and website records.
Read more
Off-channel communications, answered.
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Off-channel communications are business conversations on channels a firm does not capture or supervise, such as texts, iMessage or WhatsApp on an employee's own phone. Firms close the gap by approving the channels clients use, capturing them and reviewing what is captured. Discuss your device and channel coverage
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The rules turn on what a communication relates to and do not name an app or a device. Rule 17a-4(b)(4) covers broker-dealer communications relating to the firm's business, FINRA Rule 3110(b)(4) requires procedures to review written correspondence, including electronic, and Advisers Act Rule 204-2(a)(7) covers written communications about advice. Counsel confirms what applies. Discuss your device and channel coverage
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Whether a firm approves WhatsApp for client business is a policy decision for the firm. Where a firm approves it, Red Oak mobile capture archives WhatsApp from company and personal phones in native format, including edits, deletions, reactions, media and voice notes, once each phone is enrolled. Discuss your device and channel coverage
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With Trusted Contacts, an employee marks personal contacts once on their own iOS or Android phone, and conversations with those contacts are never captured. Business conversations on the same phone are captured, and the employee keeps the phone. Discuss your device and channel coverage
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A captured conversation is kept in the archive and reaches the review queues your firm sets up, beside email. A reviewer reads it as a thread and records a decision, and the audit trail shows who took each action. Discuss your device and channel coverage