Don’t put work emails on your iPhone – your boss could track your location, texts and web history
PUTTING your work emails on your personal phone might sound practical – but it could let your boss spy on you.
You could be handing over very intimate information, including your location, text message history and even a log of your web browsing.
It's all down to something called Mobile Device Management, or MDM.
When you add work emails to your personal phone – on iPhone or Android – you'll often be forced to install an MDM profile.
These are set up by IT departments to keep your phone secure, and allow for remote data wiping if it's lost – but can be used for more sinister purposes.
"MDM functionality was around before this shift, but with the smartphone boom, it became a core part of IT policy," explains software developer Owen Williams, on the .
He added: "Companies were happy to let employees access their email on their own devices, which saved the cost of buying separate work phones and data plans, but it also meant that individuals who accepted the arrangement lost control over their sensitive data."
The use of these MDM profiles can vary – but they can invade your privacy in very serious ways.
It's possible for employers to follow your real-world movements remotely, and even monitor your internet usage.
"In many cases, MDM gives companies the ability to track your location and install a corporate VPN," Williams explained.
"This means they can route your traffic through a network the company owns.
"And if they own that network, the company can monitor traffic on it, providing a one-way mirror into your life, with no way to peer back."
Apple's iPhones and Google's Android mobiles don't allow your location to be tracked without your permission.
But some businesses will force you to install an app that performs the tracking itself, if you decide to add work emails to your device.
According to Williams, these tools can let your office's IT department hoover up your call logs, text history and even full details of your web browsing.
An MDM profile can also delete or install apps on your phone remotely.
This might sound reasonable on a work phone, but certainly not on your personal blower.
How to remove an MDM profile from iPhone
Here's what you need to know...
- First, open Settings and then scroll down to General
- Then go down to either Profiles or Device Management
- Tap on the "Profile" you want to remove
- Then tap on Remove Management
- Of course, this will prevent your work email from being accessible on the iPhone
- A workaround that may work with some email systems is to simply log in using a web browser
- For instance, users of Google's G-Suite can leave their emails open in a Safari tab without having to install MDM
- But this will mean the emails won't appear in the regular Mail app, you won't receive push notifications for new messages
The good news is that reputable companies are unlikely to actually spy on their workers' text messages.
But dodgy firms – or rogue IT workers within a company – could take advantage of the software to snoop on you.
Importantly, there's no way for you to know who is accessing your data, what data has been viewed and when.
Only IT workers will be able to see this information.
It's possible to remove an MDM profile from your iPhone, but you'll then lose access to work emails on that device.
MOST READ IN TECH
In other iPhone news, Apple has warned that using your device in the heatwave can shorten its battery life forever.
If you're interested in more Apple advice, check out our guide to texting faster on an iPhone.
We also reveal some of the easy iPhone tricks you probably didn't know about.
And learn about the little-known iPhone feature to find any photo on your phone in seconds.
Do you feel safe using work emails on a personal phone? Let us know in the comments!
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.