Discussion of the Day
Are private messages really private?
Kamila P27-Apr-23
Today I received notification that my TXT messages are "end-to-end encryption". When I learn more, this mean that noone including Google and third parties can read those messages send it from my phone. So does it mean until today they could? I doubt our text messages from our cell phone are private! I don't understand how anyone else apart from sender and receiver can read it. I am in shock. Did you know that?
Comments
  • Carolyn7 P
    I watch many, many crime shows and one thing law enforcement can do is get cell phone records, including texts. So if they can do it, I suppose any good hacker could also access the same.
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    • Campbell C 184664
      In this day and age privacy is a myth.
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      • Catharina 1274733
        It's a lie. ; ))
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        • Pam G 449028
          Nothing is ever private, when it comes to technology.
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          • Jeremy V
            I do believe anything sent via an air-wave can be transmitted back. Ecrypted or not the details sent this way are never 100% safe or fool proof. Ecrypted messages can be de-crypted with software. There are all different kinds of ecryption and more indepth the ecryption goes the harder it is to de-crypt. But no matter how many layers there are there is still a possiblilty of it being de-crypted. So with this said your messages are safer this way but not 100% fool proof. A small percentage of people/companies will be able to de-crypt them no matter where they are in the world. But this is not to say ALL messages are intercepted, but I do believe a small percentage are and it may be completely random who and which one are intercepted. So in saying that do NOT EVER send personal information in a text message. Such as bank details, Super details, Credit Card details etc even to loved ones. Keep sending them emoji's instead. :)
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            • Karla 1259682
              Unsure
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              • Claude H
                Mostly
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                • Paula J 395266
                  I don't send anything important by phone and if I have a "private" message I deliver it personally.
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                  • Judy T 470524
                    I never put any information out there about anything important.
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                    • Woofers
                      No. and anyone who believes otherwise is a gullible fool!
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                      • Baby Crainer
                        They are private because I don’t let people see them
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                        • RODNEY S 668931
                          Never....how could they be!
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                          • IdentifyAs
                            I doubt it, someone/big brother is always watching
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                            • Edith v
                              I doubt we have privacy these days & do you remember 'Big Brother is Watching you'
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                              • Pat C 618241
                                You pays your money and you takes your chance, brother and sister!
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                                • Beryl M 1009442
                                  No way in the world is anything private.. They know everything. (who are they ??) Any company who will pay money for information.. Facebook, Google, Whats-app for a start. Mention a brand name, even cornflakes you will see adds for it . Be careful one and all what you do and say on the net, Someone is watching you 🤣🤪
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                                  • MoB
                                    Nothing in this world is private anymore. Once we use social media or purchase something on line it's all there for anybody to read.
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                                    • Liane H
                                      I wrote something in a msg on here just this week to a friend .A description of a type of jewellery.... we were having a laugh that we both wore similar styles. It was quite specific in description ,next morning I had an ad for near identical bracelets on my ipad. Never had them before.... spooky !
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                                      • Greg B 520364
                                        A private in the army is a private. And that's about all that is
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                                        • APB
                                          I don't TXT at all...enjoy your mobile phone...it will tell everyone where you are...and what you are doing... and let you down you badly if you do anything wrong..with a friend like your mobile you don't need enemies...and you don't have to pay for real friends normally do you?
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                                          • Colin L 88398
                                            Do you remember the Feral Government passing a law requiring Telco's to retain Metadata? Well the reality is that any text message you send is saved and is readable by the company who carries it. As for end to end Encryption in theory it is unreadable unless of course it is the Telco's providing the Encryption Key in which case it appears as Plain Text to them whenever they open any text message. So in answer to your question No Any carrier can read your Messages if they chose to.
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                                            • Luke W 72035
                                              You can only really make it more difficult for third parties to see the data. The internet is cancer I swear. I feel a sense of dread thinking about where society is heading with this stuff.
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                                              • Tupulua S
                                                THE ONLY ESSENCE OF PRAVICY IS A LONG LONG PASSWORD
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                                                • Bill C
                                                  No it isn't the Telcos can read it as they want to and ads pickup on what you look at too. If you have a computor, cellphone or fitbit your every being is followed, no matter how good your password might be.
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                                              • Sonya F 68771
                                                Nothing is private on your phone or computer
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                                                • Shawn B 1061185
                                                  Once it’s posted, it is always out there. I certainly don’t know why someone would be interested in your messages, but if you pay attention to all those politicians that get their phones hacked (and all the cop shows), and all kinds of others things hacked, you would know that nothing is private. There is nothing to be shocked about. Just don’t text your best friend that you’re having an affair. ;-)
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                                                  • Smiley
                                                    Hackers and those with specialised IT knowledge can grab so much from cyberspace and even obtain contents of our phones, bank cards, etc by simply walking past someone or having someone walk through a zone where they have their "hacker ability things" set up and running to download data from innocent people. I have a friend who works in IT and it is his job to help businesses who have been hacked or have had their computer systems compromised. He said it is scary what he knows and he admits there are people out there who make him look like an amateur.
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                                                    • Jane M 438289
                                                      Never consider anything you say or do online as private no matter what you are told or what security measures you take.
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                                                      • CourtneyM1993
                                                        I did not know that
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                                                        • Daniel A 2
                                                          No supposably nothings private, We've just always got to hope that there's just so much out there, that they wont bother tuching our own, when they don't have the time.
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                                                          • Paul J 94868
                                                            No...
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                                                            • Jenny L 591463
                                                              Well example how do the police read the messages even after they have been deleted? Emails, Text, and because it is an invasion of privacy they need a warrent to obtain these things. It's how they put people in jail for crimes they have committed or are about to commit in some cases. Really bad people who are into paedophilia and even murderers. So I doubt if a so called private message is private at all and if you want some thing to be private do it in person. So no sending any dick pics or fanny flap shots. HAHA Now I am being gross Sorry but it is true. Plus no sex recordings either. Because once it gets passed around it stays out there. A warning for every one under 30. I have been naive too.
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                                                              • Sylvie D 1128537
                                                                Definitely not
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                                                                • Manel 1271300
                                                                  Nothing on line including emails or messages are not private. Always other elements can read what we write. That is how technology works. However there are good effects of this too, when it comes to detecting terrorist elements and other scam activities. So we have to tolerate this.😃
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                                                                  • yvonne l 1107206
                                                                    i dont think any thing is private any more
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                                                                    • Amy B 1078427
                                                                      I don’t think anything is private anymore
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                                                                      • Mopos
                                                                        Private? no, never has been and never will be!
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                                                                        • Kathy C 94408
                                                                          Yes nothing is private anymore.
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                                                                          • Christina P 1042585
                                                                            Nothing is private anymore
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                                                                            • Bugalugs
                                                                              No matter what they say Nothing on-line is safe. It can all be hacked, listened to, copied, resorded and all without your knowledge. The best way to communicate is probably by phone, unless you are in Russia where they listen in to all your phone calls and if you dare to criticise that Murdering Bastard and the World's Number One War Criminal, Vladimir Putin, the Russina Military you end up in one of Putin's Concentration Death Camps, or face to face.
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                                                                              • Andrew C 287196
                                                                                Despite all the claims various companies make, nothing you do these days is "private" or "secure", it hasn't been for decades. There are CCTV cameras everywhere, your internet provider (or VPN service) knows exactly what websites you visit, your emails can be accessed by your email service, your mobile phone company *legally* has to keep your txt messages, the bank / credit card company knows all your purchases, your mobile phone (or things like Apple's Air Tags) can track your every move, etc. Even if the sending and storing was secure, someone who wants to 'spy' on you can easily do so - with the right, usually expensive, equipment, screens can be read through walls, signals from wireless keyboards can be intercepted, etc. The simple fact is that if a human can make it, another human can break into it - given enough time and desire to do so. Even back before computers, your local GP receptionist could read your medical notes, the tax department knows your income and savings, postman could read / open your mail, etc.
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                                                                                • Sheree T
                                                                                  Nothing is private. Very scary world now.
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                                                                                  • Robert T 597718
                                                                                    No as they involve two or more persons
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                                                                                    • MacAddict
                                                                                      Presume that it's readable if it leaves your device.
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                                                                                      • Elizabeth A 807208
                                                                                        Just be careful what you write
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                                                                                        • LA
                                                                                          Nothing is private anymore!! 😂😂😂
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                                                                                          • Jania S
                                                                                            Anything you put on the WWW or internet of mobile, pc etc, is no longer yours it is owned by the company you use and has belonged to them from day one. READ THEE T&C and you will know everything you publish is for world consumption. THERE IS NO PRIVACY
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                                                                                            • Jania S
                                                                                              NOTHING IS PRIVATE, PRIVACY is USA BS
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                                                                                          • natalie o 1132382
                                                                                            i didnt know that
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                                                                                            • Shelia C
                                                                                              Yes just learned that a couple of weeks ago when I discovered my messages read "end-to-end encryption". I have always been told that once anything is out there it's up for grabs
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                                                                                              • Elizabeth T 396096
                                                                                                It is like anything: if you have the right key or discover an entry point that is not secure, it can be broken in to.
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                                                                                                • Robin L 79437
                                                                                                  I hope they are but sometimes I'm not sure
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                                                                                                  • Carmel C 103964
                                                                                                    In my community, we teach our children that the second they type, paste or post anything, be it in a text message between two people, on social media, via Messenger...wherever....that whatever they send is now in a split second readily accessible to the whole world and no longer belongs to them. Type it, paste it, post it....it no longer belongs to you immediately you hit Submit/Send. To get it deleted permanently off the 'airwaves' then becomes an almost impossible task. You can hit delete but it will always be 'somewhere'. Always think twice or three times before you click You want to have a private conversation with someone then don't involve technology of any sort. .
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                                                                                                    • boy blunder
                                                                                                      when people say it isn't possible that is when I know it is,, when people say you can not, it nominally means you can, its when people say things are so that's when I think they are not, have had several experiences that could explain my comments, that's how I feel I am ok if you disagree with me, like when my granddaughter tried to sign me up to social media she found out i had accounts in Facebook/tic toc, and Twitter yet I have never joined, contacting those places about the situation I had to prove I was me before they would anything
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                                                                                                      • Igor A
                                                                                                        Looks like pricy is not for everybody. It is rather somebody's privilege.
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                                                                                                        • Maureen W 406466
                                                                                                          Nothing at all is private You would be surprised if you knew how much they those people know about you, everything you do is tracked somewhere
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                                                                                                          • Susan KTC
                                                                                                            🤔 so it appears that the only way to remain private is be aware of what you say on social media, and from what others have noted, appears same with txting and messaging. Welcome to the 21st century, with technology advancing every day…
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                                                                                                            • William P 589978
                                                                                                              Nothing is private.
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                                                                                                              • Julz B
                                                                                                                welcome to the 21st century
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                                                                                                                • Maree B 85308
                                                                                                                  Go for their lives, they can read all my messages and infiltrate my life, my secret power is that i will bore them to death with my rather ordinary and banal life.
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                                                                                                                  • Cheryl Katt (AZ)
                                                                                                                    My sentiments exactly. I'd be the one the kidnappers toss out of the van because I won't shut up about my cat. 😁
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                                                                                                                  • Lyn 78550
                                                                                                                    Great response as always. Have a great day. x
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                                                                                                                • Kathy 1270954
                                                                                                                  I don't think so. If nothing can really be deleted without destroying your hard drive, what makes you think your messages are really private if someone with the skills, wanted to know?
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                                                                                                                  • Maria B 89860
                                                                                                                    To my way of thinking if their is a HelpDesk in place and sometimes they ask your "verbal permission to view things" then they could anyway if they wanted to!
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                                                                                                                    • The dog house
                                                                                                                      Unfortunately nothing is private either when we use the computer or our mobile phones
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                                                                                                                      • Beverly I
                                                                                                                        No ,but I've suspected That my phone calls had been tapped into from time too time, in the past, probably they have found that my phone calls are boring that is why they have stopped listening to my phone calls. If they are reading my texts they will stop that as well because of boredom lol.
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                                                                                                                        • SueM2
                                                                                                                          I can tell you that so-called private messages sent via FB are only as private as the recipient wishes to keep them. Have a care what you commit to print remains as pertinent today as ever!
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                                                                                                                          • Tina 423889
                                                                                                                            It means they use to keep them in storage or on a cloud with access to them in case the government got a warrant. Unfraternally it also leaves them vulnerable to attack by hackers. Glad they are moving towards more security.
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                                                                                                                            • Chosen
                                                                                                                              If anyone else is interested in my conversations then good luck to them.
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                                                                                                                              • Michelle 1281734
                                                                                                                                Probably not unless you are talking to someone in your home with no one else around!!!
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                                                                                                                                • Morenita
                                                                                                                                  We are actually being watched by satellites and there’s cameras everywhere now a days
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                                                                                                                                  • kristian s 513441
                                                                                                                                    Nothing is not private anymore especially social media is on the raise.
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                                                                                                                                    • Lachelle B
                                                                                                                                      Yes I knew, if you're willing to use technology this is the risk you take.
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                                                                                                                                      • phillH
                                                                                                                                        ssssh dont tell anyone but.........
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                                                                                                                                        • Cher
                                                                                                                                          This is news to me. Did not know this.Thanks for letting me know.
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                                                                                                                                          • eva 1290675
                                                                                                                                            i heard the police are the only ones allowed to hack into computers so no worries
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                                                                                                                                            • Rachel H 1018522
                                                                                                                                              I don’t believe anything is private these days
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                                                                                                                                              • Irena T
                                                                                                                                                No, nothing is private these days anymore
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                                                                                                                                                • Michelle S 553303
                                                                                                                                                  I'm afraid that we only have the "illusion" of privacy today but no more. The same is the "illusion" of freedom! I use a VPN whenever I'm doing surveys and I am aware that this tò is really a waste of time as, and a commenter raised this issue. If you are paying for that service with a card in your name, then the details of WHO is paying for that service is well able to be found by "them" and they can find all the data on you regardless. It might just slow TPTB down a bit, but we are tracked and traced wherever we go now and, I'm afraid, that it is going to get a whole lot worse with digital currencies! Be careful what you say everywhere. Big Brother is listening.
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                                                                                                                                                  • Teri 1282723
                                                                                                                                                    I just read down a few comments and just so you know, if you have a debit or credit card 'they' know what you're buying, if you have a newer car 'they' know where you are and where you've been, if you have a camera on your computer 'they' can access it if they want to, if you walk down a street 'they' have your images from start to finish; THEY are everywhere and if it's not government and/or other spies, it's the hackers we all hope don't get our "private" information and mess with it.
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                                                                                                                                                    • Teri 1282723
                                                                                                                                                      Yes, I knew this. One of my nephews was getting a little spicy in his speaking to his wife and Siri - who was not part of the conversation - said "Watch your language, Tim". It stopped the argument, but it goes to show someone is always listening or reading or seeing or knowing everything about us.
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                                                                                                                                                      • Cathy O 1247969
                                                                                                                                                        No
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                                                                                                                                                        • pam rae
                                                                                                                                                          not online how i see it let alone on a cell phone but then that's my thinking cap..
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                                                                                                                                                          • Roy R 1009866
                                                                                                                                                            There is no such thing as private when it comes to online.
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                                                                                                                                                            • Suzanne S 1017427
                                                                                                                                                              Not at all..
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                                                                                                                                                              • Christine M 323842
                                                                                                                                                                Everything that you use the internet for is available to anyone who really wants to see it.
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                                                                                                                                                                • Colleen A 526190
                                                                                                                                                                  Nothing is private anymore Big brother is watching and listening to us all
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                                                                                                                                                                  • Janice M 1118237
                                                                                                                                                                    Have no idea
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                                                                                                                                                                    • lin r
                                                                                                                                                                      no shock here
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                                                                                                                                                                      • BLACK LIVES MATTER
                                                                                                                                                                        Does not apply to me (I have never owned a cell/smart phone). I still use a line-land-phone that does not have an internet connection - aka 'old school' :-))!
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                                                                                                                                                                        • View all 4 replies
                                                                                                                                                                        • Lachelle B
                                                                                                                                                                          I'll message you via smoke signals later Walter 😉
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                                                                                                                                                                        • BLACK LIVES MATTERLachelle B
                                                                                                                                                                          Hi Lachelle B. Looking forward to your smoke signals - does your smoke signals come on internationally rates (aka FREE in my neighborhood) :-))?
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                                                                                                                                                                        • Lachelle BBLACK LIVES MATTER
                                                                                                                                                                          🤣 It's gonna be difficult...time zone, wind factor, but I'll try and be covert and avoid the pollution police!
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                                                                                                                                                                        • BLACK LIVES MATTERLachelle B
                                                                                                                                                                          Hilarious :-))!
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                                                                                                                                                                      • Rhonda D 522615
                                                                                                                                                                        NO.
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                                                                                                                                                                        • Linda C
                                                                                                                                                                          Nothing is private on the net. If they read my messages they would be bored anyway.
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                                                                                                                                                                          • Helen L 750218
                                                                                                                                                                            They've always been able to, even now.
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