Exactly this. Any employer trying to put private devices into their MDM is totally unprofessional anyway… Most MDMs allow access to the GPS Data and have a remote wiping function, it would be a privacy mess for the employee AND employer.
Years ago, I worked in the IT department at a university that brought in an MDM for accessing work email on personal devices with a policy of wiping the phone if you got your unlock code wrong 3 times. I refused to use it on my personal device and told the head of the department that it was far too risky as you could accidentally do this with the phone in your pocket. He disagreed, but less than a week later, this exact thing happened to him, got his unlock wrong 3 times, phone wiped, no backup done. He still refused to change the policy even with the inconvenience it caused him. I just laughed.
One of my colleges had MDM enabled for staff and students alike. (I realize this is likely a configuration problem, rather than malice or whatever)
The number of students who, nonetheless, did it… mind boggling.
Remote wipe? Lawl fuck no. Not worth the risk that some asshole has a bad day and wipes them all for fun.
I can understand it for certain things but… frankly there should be some sort of like… laws? About what your employer can require of you. Sure, company phone go for it, idgaf. But if they would need to remote wipe a device, maaaaaaaybe they shouldn’t be allowed to let employees use their own. You want full control, company, you get to pay for that with another phone, phone line, etc. (extra bonus, most people won’t carry the work phone when they are off work, so they are less reachable for unpaid labor :) )
Virtually all current flip phones run either Android or KaiOS under the hood. The giveaway would be any Google app pre-installed, or any app you already recognize.
The era of “dumb” flip phones is long over. I would be very surprised if any are still being manufactured.
my current one actually does have an older, and very stripped-down, android… but no google anything installed, and no google play. i don’t even have a data plan attached to it–although it does have a mobile browser and can function as a hotspot.
I used to have Teams and Outlook on my phone, so I was accessible for work at almost any time. I know a lot of people think that’s dumb, but I was an hourly employee so I never minded the occasional work ping after hours, since I didn’t mind getting paid to reply with a few sentences from my couch. It worked out well for both me and my company.
Then they decided to make MDM mandatory on your phone to access Teams and Outlook. I declined the install and removed both apps from my phone. Now I can easily miss IMs for weeks at a time if I don’t open a 2nd laptop to check them. I’m more disconnected than I’ve ever been, which is probably better for my mental health. I don’t bill as much as I used to, but that’s fine for me.
I eventually caved and installed stuff on a Pixel 1.
If they wanted a phone with security updates they would have given me one.
The solution for their use should have been standard TOTP and/or yubikey. But apparently some vendor came in with a fancy PowerPoint for their proprietary project.
If they want to install anything on my phone other than apps I choose to install for my own convenience they better give me a work phone.
Exactly this. Any employer trying to put private devices into their MDM is totally unprofessional anyway… Most MDMs allow access to the GPS Data and have a remote wiping function, it would be a privacy mess for the employee AND employer.
Years ago, I worked in the IT department at a university that brought in an MDM for accessing work email on personal devices with a policy of wiping the phone if you got your unlock code wrong 3 times. I refused to use it on my personal device and told the head of the department that it was far too risky as you could accidentally do this with the phone in your pocket. He disagreed, but less than a week later, this exact thing happened to him, got his unlock wrong 3 times, phone wiped, no backup done. He still refused to change the policy even with the inconvenience it caused him. I just laughed.
One of my colleges had MDM enabled for staff and students alike. (I realize this is likely a configuration problem, rather than malice or whatever)
The number of students who, nonetheless, did it… mind boggling.
Remote wipe? Lawl fuck no. Not worth the risk that some asshole has a bad day and wipes them all for fun.
I can understand it for certain things but… frankly there should be some sort of like… laws? About what your employer can require of you. Sure, company phone go for it, idgaf. But if they would need to remote wipe a device, maaaaaaaybe they shouldn’t be allowed to let employees use their own. You want full control, company, you get to pay for that with another phone, phone line, etc. (extra bonus, most people won’t carry the work phone when they are off work, so they are less reachable for unpaid labor :) )
“You need to install this on your phone”
“Oh I don’t have a phone”
“you’re welcome to try”
hands over my brain-dead flip phone with no ‘app’ capability
Virtually all current flip phones run either Android or KaiOS under the hood. The giveaway would be any Google app pre-installed, or any app you already recognize.
The era of “dumb” flip phones is long over. I would be very surprised if any are still being manufactured.
my current one actually does have an older, and very stripped-down, android… but no google anything installed, and no google play. i don’t even have a data plan attached to it–although it does have a mobile browser and can function as a hotspot.
I used to have Teams and Outlook on my phone, so I was accessible for work at almost any time. I know a lot of people think that’s dumb, but I was an hourly employee so I never minded the occasional work ping after hours, since I didn’t mind getting paid to reply with a few sentences from my couch. It worked out well for both me and my company.
Then they decided to make MDM mandatory on your phone to access Teams and Outlook. I declined the install and removed both apps from my phone. Now I can easily miss IMs for weeks at a time if I don’t open a 2nd laptop to check them. I’m more disconnected than I’ve ever been, which is probably better for my mental health. I don’t bill as much as I used to, but that’s fine for me.
I eventually caved and installed stuff on a Pixel 1.
If they wanted a phone with security updates they would have given me one.
The solution for their use should have been standard TOTP and/or yubikey. But apparently some vendor came in with a fancy PowerPoint for their proprietary project.
You’re fired
See you at the employment tribunal ;)
Yeah that’s illegal in the civilised world.
not a thing in the EU.
Must be nice
Tell it to the union.
Mine just gave us all phones.
Too much litigation chance