IM chat logs have even been used in court cases as evidence! This is why, for some, chat logs can be a headache. If your network administrator and/or supervisor has access to your chat logs, and you have been using the IM chat client to communicate in such a way that is against company policy, then chat logs may ‘catch you in the act’. This could lead to a reprimand, such as less vacation days or no chance for flex time, but can also lead up to termination, depending on each individual company’s policy.

For whatever use a hosted IM client and chat logs may be to you, make sure that you remember that your conversations could be monitored and come back to haunt you. A good rule of thumb is, if you wouldn’t say it out loud or to your manager directly (or to your grandmother), then you probably shouldn’t be saying it in IM at all.