Indeed. I suspect companies being started now will opt out of logging more and more. My companies employees work from home the majority of the time. We use Hipchat, Trello, Github, Google Drive, and Email for most of our communications. We limit what we log technically (auto deleted after X days email, no logging on most hipchat channels) and by corporate policy.

We made an active decision to not store / log Hipchat and Email for a few reasons. We have a specific logged Hipchat channels -- but the rest just keep 75 lines for context and that is it. We also never have logged (nor ever will) the 1 on 1 conversations. Employees in a physical location can go outside and rant about a boss, family issue or other random noise -- and this isn't unhealthy, it is normal. We want to encourage open communication and straightforwardness -- and having communications "forgotten" is an important part of that. It also had additional benefits.

1. It limits the nightmare of discovery if we ever get sued, ever word every employee ever said won't be painstakingly scrutinized. Because we want the legal protection, we clearly spell out this privacy in our corporate documents so it is crystal clear to our employees. 2. It allows stuff to be discussed in context and in time and not being picked apart or misunderstood at a later point by other employees. Which encourages honesty and "getting it done". 3. It creates a "separation" of ephemeral communication that have a lower signal to noise ratio (our Hipchat today had many pictures of new desk layouts)... the important data leaves email or Hipchat and makes its way to Trello, Github or Google Drive.