When the first iPhone launched in 2007, it redefined mobile communication. Today, Apple dominates the global smartphone market. According to Statista, as of 2025, there are approximately 1.56 billion active iPhone users worldwide. And iMessage — Apple’s native messaging service — is the default way those users communicate on iPhone devices.
Your employees use iPhones. Your clients use iPhones. Even if firm policy restricts it, employees may still turn to iMessage to connect with customers, colleagues, and vendors. That reality creates a potential compliance blind spot that firms can’t afford to ignore.
Financial services firms of all sizes must implement systems that effectively manage iMessage communications securely, compliantly, and with complete visibility.
Apple’s iMessage is a proprietary, encrypted messaging service built into every iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac device. It routes messages through Apple’s network using Wi-Fi or data instead of cellular SMS.
For users embedded in the Apple ecosystem, it’s fast, secure, and integrated — and has become second nature in both personal and business communication
For firms with a mobile workforce, iMessage offers advantages that support productivity, security and responsiveness. Key benefits include:
In practice, this means employees can communicate faster and more efficiently, using the tools they already know, which reduces friction in both internal and client communication.
Restricting iMessage can slow teams down and push communication to unmonitored channels. With proper compliance technology in place, firms can allow iMessage use while maintaining complete control. Enabling iMessage supports:
Blocking iMessage doesn’t eliminate the risk — it just makes it more difficult for compliance teams to uncover. If employees use the platform regardless of policy, compliance teams will be left unaware of business conversations taking place outside approved systems.
Without the ability to capture, archive, and monitor those communications, firms face substantial exposure:
A compliant solution requires specialized third-party technology to securely capture, monitor, and store communications for supervision and retrieval.
MCO has partnered with FirmScribe to provide a solution that enables firms to use iMessage while remaining compliant. FirmScribe securely captures and iMessages without disrupting the user experience, while MCO’s compliance platform centralizes oversight, archiving, and audit-ready reporting.
This partnership enables firms to leverage the benefits of iMessage—speed, convenience, and ubiquity—while addressing compliance gaps and ensuring that all business communications are monitored, supervised, and retrievable for regulatory purposes.
Explore our solutions plus additional insights and solutions to help your firm strengthen eComms monitoring, archiving, and reporting across all communication channels.