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Comma Compliance Docs

Setting Up iMessage Archiving

iMessage capture is the hardest channel in compliance, because Apple does not provide a server-side API. Comma supports two approaches: a hosted managed Mac that Comma provisions and operates for individual user iMessage, and Apple Business Chat for organization-to-customer messaging through Apple’s business surface.

How iMessage capture works

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Comma runs its iMessage capture agent on a managed Mac that Comma provides, hosts, and operates for you as part of your subscription. You do not buy, build, or maintain any Mac hardware, and there is nothing to install in your own environment. Each hosted capture Mac:

  • Is enrolled with the user’s iCloud account so it receives that user’s messages
  • Receives every SMS and iMessage that user receives
  • Forwards messages, attachments, and metadata to Comma via a secure webhook
  • Validates the link with an end-to-end test message at setup time

No app is installed on the user’s iPhone, and no MDM is required on user devices. The Mac hardware, its management (MDM, disk encryption, endpoint monitoring), networking, and all capture software are handled entirely by Comma.

What Comma provides

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  • The capture Mac hardware, hosted and managed in Comma’s environment
  • Provisioning, the capture-agent installer, and all networking (including Apple Push Notification Service connectivity)
  • Ongoing management, monitoring, and updates

What you provide

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  • iCloud account access for each user whose iMessage should be captured, so Comma’s hosted Mac can be enrolled to receive that user’s messages
  • Comma team admin access to authorize the integration
  • About 10 minutes of a user’s time for a one-time sign-in and verification
  • To archive messages from before the connection: each user turns on Messages in iCloud on their iPhone and has enough free iCloud storage for their message history (see Past messages). New messages are captured without this step.

Setup steps

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Setup happens in the Comma dashboard - Comma handles the Mac side for you.

  1. Sign in to the Comma Compliance dashboard
  2. Open Integrations in the top navigation
  3. Under Your Connections, find the iMessage card and click Connect
  4. Comma provisions a hosted capture Mac and generates the per-user configuration
  5. Comma coordinates a short sign-in with the user: when prompted, the user enters their Apple ID and approves the two-factor prompt on their trusted device so the account can be enrolled on the hosted Mac. If the account is managed through Apple Business Manager, the code may go to a different phone number (see Apple Business accounts). This is the ~10 minutes of user time noted above, and it is the only step the user needs for new messages to be captured.
  6. With the account enrolled, Comma enables Messages in iCloud and fires a test message to verify the round-trip and confirm the connection
  7. To bring in messages from before the connection, the user turns on Messages in iCloud on their iPhone (see Past messages)

Past messages

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Comma captures new messages from the moment the user is connected. Messages from before then are on the user’s iPhone, and they reach Comma only through Messages in iCloud. If the user hasn’t turned it on, new messages are still archived, but their earlier history is not.

To bring in that history, the user turns on Messages in iCloud on their iPhone:

  1. Open Settings and tap your name at the top
  2. Tap iCloud. On newer iOS versions, tap Show All under Saved to iCloud
  3. Tap Messages in iCloud and turn it on for this iPhone

The iPhone then uploads its message history to iCloud, and it comes into Comma from there. A long history can take a while to upload, so keep the iPhone on Wi-Fi and charging. The upload needs enough free iCloud storage. If storage is full, iCloud pauses syncing until there is room.

About the Apple sign-in

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Apple has no server-side API or consent screen for iMessage. The user’s Apple ID sign-in is what authorizes capture. It lets the hosted Mac receive that user’s new messages. Messages from before the connection come in only through Messages in iCloud on the user’s iPhone (see Past messages).

The sign-in is scoped to messaging. Comma captures only iMessage and SMS, never sends messages as the user, and does not use the connection to reach other iCloud content.

Apple Business accounts

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If your Apple account is managed through Apple Business Manager, Apple may send the 6-digit code by text to the phone number on the account, not to the iPhone you are connecting. Check the number on the account if you don’t see a code.

Keeping the connection active

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Because the Apple sign-in is what keeps messages flowing, capture depends on it staying active. If the user signs out, or the Apple session expires, capture pauses and Comma prompts the user to reconnect or resume sync. Anything already archived is sealed and is not affected.

Apple Account device list on an iPhone showing Comma's hosted Macs as Mac Studio devices named Comma Compliance Archive

Fleet deployment

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If you’re rolling out across many users, Comma provisions and manages the capture Macs as a hosted pool, and can request Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP) integration for streamlined fleet provisioning. Open the iMessage integration card in Comma and click Request DEP enrollment to start the process with the Comma team.

Apple Business Chat

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For organization-to-customer iMessage through Apple Business Chat (the “Message Business” button on company web and map listings), Comma captures through the Business Chat API. Apple Business Chat support is rare among compliance vendors. Contact us to enable it for your tenant.

What’s next

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