Privacy experts are raising concerns over the use of untraceable forms of communication among government employees.

In Andrew Younger’s secret recording released to the media earlier this week, Younger and Kirby McVicar exchanged pins so they can communicate via BlackBerry messenger.

But pin and text messages are not routinely backed up on government servers. Younger and McVicar's phones were wiped when they left their positions.

“The entire BlackBerrys and that are completely wiped by the IT sector in government,” said Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil. “His emails would remain where they were in the inbox but anyone's phone would be completely wiped. That's standard practice.”

That means all communication outside of government email accounts is not part of the public record, as required by the Government Records Act.

“Which I think significantly undermines the spirit of the legislation, and is a slap in the face to the imperative of transparency that governments should operate under,” said privacy expert David Fraser.

It's an issue that has raised the ire of privacy experts for years because it eliminates the public’s ability to scrutinize government and bureaucratic decisions.

Fraser says using text messages to conduct government business is a deliberate circumvention of Freedom of Information laws.

“There should be a general prohibition against conducting government business through unauthorized electronic channels,” said Fraser.

In a statement, the Department of Justice says it’s important to make the Freedom of Information process as efficient and effective as possible.

“We feel the existing framework is working well.”

Fraser says legislative changes need to be made.

“We don't have enough clarity in the law in Nova Scotia to make it clear to public servants that they have an obligation to document any significant decisions that are made by government.”

Fraser also says the Office of Information and Privacy needs to be made independent of government, as is the case in every other province.

The opposition PCs have called on government to make the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy officer an independent officer of the legislature, giving her the power to appear before committees and submit independent reports.

“With these scandals going on, and no official records of them, people won't know what's being done with their tax dollars,” said Tory Leader Jamie Ballie.

In a statement, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner says they have recommended Commissioner Catherine Tully be made an officer of the legislature.

"The independence that comes with this designation is considered to be a hallmark of modern access and privacy legislation," the statement says.

The federal information and privacy commissioner issued a special report in 2013 saying there should be a ban on instant messaging with government-issued devices because the information is so transient, and people aren't able to access it through Freedom of Information requests.

At the time the federal treasury board president rejected the idea.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie.