Chicago (IL) - Being the president of the United States, generally considered to be the title of the most powerful person on this planet, has many advantages, but downsides as well. And there is especially one you may not think of: Privacy concerns could mean that Obama will have to give up a critical piece of technology he apparently loves and most people rely on today: Email.

For years it seems that Barack Obama has been using his Blackberry smartphone like so many of us. But before he officially accepts his presidency, he is will likely have to sync his wireless session for one last time until 2012, at least. The problem: Email privacy concerns.

But not only are email security issues in question for Obama, but he also has to be in line with the Presidential Records Act that forces his correspondence to be placed on official record for review by the public, and also subjects anything he does to the threat of subpoenas. There has yet to be a decision made as to whether or not Obama will be the first emailing president, but his aides are guessing that it is not very likely.

Obama has been described as a tech-savvy president, mostly because of the extensive use of technology during his presidential campaign. And it appeared that he was taken steps to bring at least some of that technology with him into the White House. For example, Obama wants to have a laptop computer on his desk in the White House, and if this is achieved he would be the first American president to accomplish this feat.

It is reported that Obama has yet to send a goodbye message from his personal e-mail account- which has not changed in years- but those he communicates with say that the frequency in which they receive his messages has declined. In recent days, he has been photographed communicating via his Blackberry, which shows he is enjoying his last days with the device. However, we may be just another person whose life is simply tied to mobile email, as it is the case with millions of others. But there is no doubt that giving up this habit and communication path will be difficult.

Obama would be the second president to deal with this predicament. Three days prior to being inaugurated, George W. Bush forwarded a message to 42 friends and relatives that explained his situation. “Since I do not want my private conversations looked at by those out to embarrass, the only course of action is not to correspond in cyberspace,” President Bush wrote from his old address, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . “This saddens me. I have enjoyed conversing with each of you.”

Obama’s aids previously said that very seldom were briefing books and memorandums sent to the president-elect, as the information was simply forwarded to his Blackberry for his review. If a document was too lengthy to read from his handheld, he simply used his laptop. Obama has been known to utilize RSS Feeds to keep up with as much information in real time as possible, so no longer having access to these venues could prove to be an issue.  “Given how important it is for him to get unfiltered information from as many sources as possible, I can imagine he will miss that freedom,” Linda Douglass, a senior adviser who traveled with the campaign told the New York Times.

Obama may or may not be the first president to send e-mail from the oval office. We will have to wait until after his inauguration to find out.