Several senior members of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens' office have accounts with a secretive app that erases messages after they're read.
The Kansas City Star reports that it determined the governor and some of his staff have Confide accounts connected to their personal cellphones. The app deletes messages and prevents recipients from saving, forwarding, printing or taking screenshots of messages.
Open-government advocates say that raises concerns that the app could be used to undermine open records laws.
It's unclear whether the governor and his staff are using the app for state business, personal use or campaign work.
Greitens' spokesperson, Parker Briden, told the newspaper he doesn't believe anyone downloaded Confide on a state-issued device. He didn't answer follow-up questions.
Alex Howard of the Sunlight Foundation says using the app for public business would shield that work from valuable public oversight.
