Sometime around two months ago I went to check my work e-mail on my Droid and saw the pictured to the right. Basically, to connect to the state’s Exchange server I suddenly needed to give them the right to remotely wipe my phone. As you can guess, I no longer use my phone to check my work e-mail. (Which does mean that the state now get’s less work out of one of it’s employees.)
I wasn’t going to blog about this but then I heard this story (embedded below) on NPR about this exact situation. Take a listen and let me know what you think. Should an employer have the right to wipe your personal device if you use it for work?
Michael Sauers is currently the Director of Technology for Do Space in Omaha, NE. Michael has been training librarians in technology for the past twenty years and has also been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller since earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. Michael has also written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and his fourteenth book, Emerging Technologies: A Primer for Librarians (w/ Jennifer Koerber) was published in May 2015 and more books are on the way. In his spare time he blogs at travelinlibrarian.info, runs The Collector’s Guide to Dean Koontz Web site, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
View all posts by Michael Sauers
4 Replies to “When Your Company Kills Your Personal Devices”
I say NO. That’s why I have a separate personal smartphone and work cellphone.
I noticed that I can get in via the Safari browser on the iPhone without that problem. If I try to use an email client, it’s a problem, but it seems to treat the Safari app like any other remote web browser…
Yes, generally if you’re using a browser to connect to Outlook Web then everything will still work. But considering the size of the screen and the requirement that I log in manually every time, it’s hardly the same experience as pulling up the mail app and clicking the refresh button.
Good grief no! They shouldn’t have that right or ability.
Sometime around two months ago I went to check my work e-mail on my Droid and saw the pictured to the right. Basically, to connect to the state’s Exchange server I suddenly needed to give them the right to remotely wipe my phone. As you can guess, I no longer use my phone to check my work e-mail. (Which does mean that the state now get’s less work out of one of it’s employees.)
I say NO. That’s why I have a separate personal smartphone and work cellphone.
I noticed that I can get in via the Safari browser on the iPhone without that problem. If I try to use an email client, it’s a problem, but it seems to treat the Safari app like any other remote web browser…
Yes, generally if you’re using a browser to connect to Outlook Web then everything will still work. But considering the size of the screen and the requirement that I log in manually every time, it’s hardly the same experience as pulling up the mail app and clicking the refresh button.
Good grief no! They shouldn’t have that right or ability.