Apple is testing a small change to iOS that’ll remind people with a company phone that their company may be watching. On Reddit, user MaGNeTiX posted screenshots of a new message that showed up on their iPhone after updating to the latest iOS 9.3 beta. On the lock screen, a permanent reminder appears at the bottom: “This iPhone is managed by your organization.” And in Settings, a new message elaborates, “This iPhone is supervised. [Your organization] can monitor your internet traffic and locate this device.”
Company iPhones might start reminding you that your boss could be watching
Sean O’Kane
is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade.
People may not realize their company can monitor the phone
They’re both small changes, but they could have a real impact on individual users. People using an iPhone that’s owned and managed by the company they work for may not know what their company can see — they may not even be aware that the company has insight into their phone at all. Keeping that message on the lock screen could remind people to be more careful with how they use their corporate phone.
(Image credit: MaGNeTiX.)
The message’s addition comes as Apple is growing increasingly attuned to concerns of surveillance. It’s in a big fight with the FBI right now about Apple’s own inability to break into an iPhone. While this update doesn’t directly tie into that fight, it very much addresses the sentiment that Apple is responsible for helping owners of its phones keep their data private and secure. Since this message is only in the iOS beta, it’s possible that it’ll be removed or changed before the final iOS 9.3 released, but it seems like a useful addition.
(Image credit: MaGNeTiX.)
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