iOS 9.3 Lets Employees Know If Their Phone Is Being Monitored

It was recently spotted in the latest iOS 9.3 beta that employers could lock the homescreens of their company-issued iOS devices. This would prevent employees from downloading, deleting, or moving apps around. Now if you feel that this feature might be a bit draconian, the good news is that Apple has you covered as well.

According to reports, the most recent iOS 9.3 beta also includes a notification to users of a device if they are being monitored by their company. As you can see in the screenshot above, it shows a message at top of the About page and also the bottom of the lockscreen that your phone is being managed by your company, and that it can be tracked and your internet traffic could be monitored as well.

While it is safe to assume that companies might track or monitor devices they have issued to employees, we guess having this message will make it more obvious, and in turn will hopefully prevent employees from doing anything silly with their phone that might get them in trouble with their bosses.

Of course this doesn’t change the fact that your device is monitored or tracked, but at the very least it makes you aware of it. With Apple’s ongoing debate with law enforcement over privacy and security, this just seems like a step towards Apple being more transparent with their customers.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: iOS, Privacy