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 the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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.