Phone records can provide valuable information in many situations, but a common question is how far back do they actually go? The answer depends on a few key factors.
Call Detail Records
Phone companies keep records of all calls made on their networks. These are known as call detail records (CDRs). CDRs log the date, time, duration and phone numbers for every call. They serve both billing and legal purposes.
Federal law requires phone companies to retain CDRs for a minimum of 1 year. However, most keep them for longer periods. Here are the typical CDR retention times for major US carriers:
| Carrier | CDR Retention Time |
|---|---|
| AT&T | 5 years |
| Verizon | 3-6 years |
| T-Mobile | 2 years |
| Sprint | 18-24 months |
So depending on your carrier, call records can generally be retrieved going back anywhere from 1 to 6 years.
Text Message Records
Text message records also known as SMS records or text logs, show the date, time and content for text messages sent and received. Unlike call records, there are no federal laws mandating how long carriers must retain text message records.
Most major phone companies keep text message records for a shorter time than call records. Here are the typical retention times:
| Carrier | Text Message Retention |
|---|---|
| AT&T | 3-5 years |
| Verizon | 3-5 years |
| T-Mobile | 1 year |
| Sprint | 18 months |
So you can expect to get text messages going back 1-5 years depending on your provider.
Smartphone App Records
Records for smartphone apps like phone calls, texts, chat messages, emails, web activity and location history are retained by the companies that make the apps, not your cell provider. Retention times can vary greatly by app and platform (iOS vs Android).
Here are some approximate retention times for popular apps:
| App | Record Retention |
|---|---|
| iMessage | Forever |
| 30 days to 1 year | |
| Facebook Messenger | Forever unless deleted |
| Gmail | Forever unless deleted |
| Snapchat | 30 days |
| Skype | 12 months |
| Google Maps | Forever unless deleted |
If you need historical records from a smartphone app, the timeframes above give a general idea of how far back you can expect records to be available.
Landline Call Records
For traditional landline phone service, phone companies follow similar rules for keeping call detail records as cell phone carriers. Records are kept for billing purposes for 1-6 years on average depending on your provider.
However, landline records may not include as much detailed information like call duration compared to cell phone call records.
VoIP Call Records
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone services like Skype, Vonage and Google Voice also retain call detail records. As these services occur over the internet rather than traditional phone lines, record retention can vary more.
Here are approximate VoIP call record retention times:
| VoIP Provider | Call Record Retention |
|---|---|
| Skype | 30-90 days |
| Google Voice | 1 year |
| Vonage | 24 months |
| Ooma | 6 months |
Extending Record Retention
For both mobile and landline providers, record retention window can sometimes be extended by court order or formal request from law enforcement if required for an active investigation.
However for general purposes, the timeframes provided above will give you an idea of how far back you can expect phone records to be available from carriers and VoIP providers.
Third-Party Records
In some cases, call detail records can be retrieved from third parties beyond just the phone company or carrier.
For example:
- Your employer may have call logs from office phone systems going back many years.
- VoIP services like Skype store call logs in the cloud which may be retrievable with a court order.
- Phone backup services or utilities that sync with your mobile device may have stored copies of text messages and other data.
So if you are missing records due to short carrier retention times, other potential sources may have the data you need.
Lost Call Records
If call records you need are not available due to retention limits expiring, there are still some options:
- Your phone bill lists all numbers called and received, which can help rebuild partial call history.
- Your mobile device may have call logs that go back farther than your carrier’s records.
- You may be able to request backups from app providers via court order.
- Voicemails, text messages, photos and emails stored locally may help reconstruct records.
With some effort, you can recover useful information even if certain provider records are no longer available.
Conclusion
Phone companies and carriers typically keep call detail records for 1-6 years for billing purposes. Text message logs are generally retained for 1-5 years but can vary more by provider. VoIP services may only keep records for months. Smartphone app records also vary greatly but some keep data forever.
If you need older records beyond these retention periods, court orders can sometimes force longer retention. You may also find third-party sources like employers, cloud backups and personal devices that have older records.
With the right tools and legal requests, reconstructing a timeline from fragmented records is often possible. But generally within 6 years, some provider records should be available to piece together phone activity.