What communication channels are firms archiving in 2025?

Global Relay’s 2025 report reveals a steady drum beat of business-as-usual compliance activity, as well as some sharp shifts in the messaging channels that are being prioritized.

While email (89%) and LinkedIn personal accounts (23%) remain in the top three most captured channels across financial services, Bloomberg capture has been outpaced by Microsoft Teams (23%), which is now the third most popularly captured channel. Despite conventional channels persisting, newer platforms are driving dramatic change:

• Capture of ChatGPT surged by nearly 3000% year-on-year (YoY) as generative AI becomes more commonly integrated into workflows and subject to regulatory scrutiny.
• WhatsApp capture rose 36% – with 89% of capturing firms based in the U.S.. This is driven by continued fines for off-channel communications from U.S. regulators.

• Apple® Messages capture increased 114%, reflecting iPhone prevalence and a potential business alternative to WhatsApp.

• Social media capture saw a steady increase YoY but there has been a 2000% rise in the number of firms capturing TikTok. This is likely a response to regulators in the U.S. and U.K. cracking down on misleading promotions and ‘finfluencer’ marketing.

• In contrast, X (formerly Twitter) continued to decline as a captured channel, falling from 20% in 2023 to 14% in 2025, reflecting reduced user engagement and costly API access.

What could recordkeeping look like in 2026?

Looking to 2026, regulators are expected to extend recordkeeping requirements to crypto assets and non-financial misconduct monitoring, further broadening the scope of channels firms must capture to ensure compliance. There is also the potential for AI assistants and productivity tools to be included within recordkeeping guidelines, especially where the outputs of such tools are used in business communications with customers or prospects.

What is the Communications Capture Trends Report?

The Global Relay Data Insights: Communication Capture Trends in 2025/26 Report looks at a cross-section of 12,000 accounts that are using Global Relay Connectors. It looks at banks, broker-dealers, fund managers, and other regulated financial services firms. The report analyses this data to reveal exclusive insights into the most commonly captured communication channels within financial service organizations worldwide and establishes which channels of communication are a priority in 2025, looking ahead to 2026.

Keeping up with evolving communications channels while maintaining compliance is a growing challenge. Global Relay has an extensive range of data Connectors that allow firms to capture and archive communications data from any channel. Whether you’re concerned about social media as a marketing risk or want to ensure ChatGPT prompts are archived and auditable, Global Relay has a Connector.