WhatsApp has become a common means of evidence in court, especially in the field of family law, and along with it there is a proliferation of SMS text messages, emails, messages on social networks and, in short, different digital media. Due to its relevance, we will tell you what you should know about the value of a WhatsApp in a divorce.

The ownership of the content of a whatsapp does not belong to the person who writes the message, but to the person who receives it, which can be a single person, a group, or a network.

Therefore, the rights that protect the content of a whatsapp are the right to privacy, image, etc. but not the secrecy of communications, which refers rather to the process of communication (e.g., tapping a phone).

2. WhatsApps are legally considered as private documents and can be used as evidence in court if the other party does not challenge them. If the other party does so, the authenticity of the message must be proven.

3. It is considered that whatsapps can be easily manipulated and therefore, as is the case with many other digital media, it is usually required to be accredited by means of, for example, notarial acts, computer expertise, etc.

4. In divorce proceedings or custody proceedings, the Supreme Court points out that, in order to consider whatsapp messages valid, they must be accompanied by an expert report.

5. The expert report carried out by the computer scientist must identify the true origin of the communication, the identity of the interlocutors and the integrity of the content. This extends to other digital media such as e-mails, SMS or messages on social networks.

6. The evidentiary significance of a whatsapp varies in each case, but there are already numerous judgments that have accepted it as the sole evidence alongside the statements of the parties.