What should be preserved about group membership, roles and permissions?¶

A group conversation may be preserved without preserving who could see or control it.

Evidential caution: that the message content alone explains the group’s evidential context.

What this means¶

Document the source of the information. A screenshot, export, provider return and organisational audit log may each show different aspects.

Avoid altering the live group unnecessarily. Opening settings, removing users, revoking links or changing permissions may create new records or alert participants.

Where the group is large, contested or operationally sensitive, seek specialist support before making changes.

What to check or do next¶

• Preserve the group or channel name, stable identifier, platform, creation details and current description. Record whether the space is private, public, invitation-only or accessible through a link.
• Capture participant identifiers rather than names alone. This may include telephone numbers, usernames, account IDs and service-specific user IDs.
• Preserve historical membership where available: join dates, leave dates, removals, re-additions and invitation events. Current membership is not a substitute for the position at the relevant time.
• Record roles and permissions. Identify owners, administrators, moderators, ordinary members and restricted users. Note who could add members, delete content, approve requests, post messages or create invitation links.
• Preserve system messages, audit logs and role-change events. These may show who changed the structure and when.
• Capture settings that affect visibility. Could new members see earlier messages? Were only administrators allowed to post? Were disappearing messages enabled? Could members forward content outside the group?