Overview
Slack is the dominant enterprise team communication platform, now owned by Salesforce. Our analysis reveals significant privacy concerns for employees: workspace administrators (typically employers) have extensive access to all messages including DMs, control data retention policies, and can export complete communication histories. Users have limited individual privacy protections.
Key Concerns
- Employer Access to All Messages: Workspace admins can access all messages including private DMs on paid plans with corporate export enabled.
- Employer-Controlled Retention: Data retention policies are set by the workspace admin, not individual users.
- No True Privacy: Even "private" channels and DMs are accessible to admins with appropriate plan and settings.
- Salesforce Integration: As a Salesforce company, data may be integrated with broader CRM and analytics systems.
- Limited Individual Rights: Employees cannot independently delete their message history or export their data.
- Mandatory Arbitration: Disputes must be resolved through binding arbitration.
Positive Aspects
- Transparent Admin Access: Slack clearly discloses what admins can access in their documentation.
- Enterprise Security: Strong security features, encryption in transit and at rest.
- Compliance Features: Enterprise Grid offers compliance tools for regulated industries.
- Integration Ecosystem: Extensive app marketplace with defined permission scopes.
Data Collection Summary
Slack collects all messages, files, reactions, and engagement data. Workspace admins can access this data through exports. Slack also collects usage analytics, device information, and integration data. As part of Salesforce, data practices are governed by both Slack and Salesforce privacy policies.