From inside the Slack app, click the down arrow next to your organization's name in the upper left-hand corner. To find out if your employer has the option to read and save your private messages, you need to check your Workspace Settings.
Which Slack are you using, and what can your employer see? Here’s how to find out. Slack declined to comment when asked if there are any circumstances in which it would decline to give a paying customer access to requested data.
Companies that pay for Enterprise Grid can access the Discovery API, which allows them “to use third-party applications to export, retain, or archive messages and files submitted to Slack.”
Once Slack approves data collection requests, companies that pay for Plus can download data via Slack's export tool. The change doesn’t apply to Free and Standard Slack workspaces, where administrators need a legal reason to download workspace data even with the higher-priced Plus and Enterprise Grid workspaces, administrators need to file a request to Slack to download it. Not every Slack workspace owner can read DMs with impunity. Some have argued that the new tool could be considered workplace surveillance, and might violate employment law if it makes workers feel they can’t openly discuss workplace conditions.
Though workers in the US are familiar with laws that allow their employers to read emails sent from work accounts, the Slack update caught some users off guard, especially given that it coincided with news of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data collection scandal. With this update, Slack is killing its preexisting “compliance export” tool, which couldn’t download data retroactively, was only available to paying customers, and alerted users whose data was being exported. By following the steps in this guide, you can generate and download or share an export of your workspace member list whenever you want.Last week, Slack warned users of changes to its platform that make it easier for employers to access and download their employees' data, including DMs and messages in private channels.Īn email with the subject line, “We’re updating our Privacy Policy and tools,” links to a Slack Help Center article that says paying Slack customers can request access to download whatever they want, including the contents of DMs and “private” channels, without notifying employees.
Click the download icon or share the file when Slackbot messages you with the member list export download link.Įxporting a full member list of your workspace can make it easier to properly monitor or audit the people in your workspace. This is especially important as the email addresses and names can count as “Personally Identifiable Information” or PII in non-corporate environments, for which there may be legal consequences for disclosing. You should be sure that everyone that has access to this data can be trusted with it. Note: The export will include the following data for each member of your workspace: username, email, status, billing-active, has-2fa, has-sso, userid, fullname, displayname, and expiration-timestamp. To do so, click the share button and select where you want to share the attachment. Alternatively, you can share it with someone else. Once Slackbot messages you with the file attachment, you can download it by clicking the small cloud icon. If you have a large workspace, be prepared to wait for a little while to receive the file from Slackbot. The process of generating a member list export may vary depending on the size of your workspace. Click on “Export member list” in the top-right corner of the member management settings page. This message will have the member-list export attached as a file for you to download. A popup will appear informing you that Slackbot will send you a message. Once you’re on the member management page, click on “Export member list” in the top-right corner.
To get to the workspace settings, click on the workspace name in the sidebar, then select “Settings & administration” and “Manage members”. Next, in the dropdown menu, select “Settings & administration”, then “Manage members” to open the Member management page in a new tab. To get there, you first need to click on the workspace name in the top-right corner. To be able to export a member list, you need to browse to the member management settings.