The company that pays your salary, and that gave you the iPhone you’re currently using for work, is also entitled to monitor what you do with it. Your company’s IT department can and will track your Internet traffic, and will even know if you read this article on your phone while at work.
No, Apple did not give in to the demands of the FBI and it’s not letting enterprises access your personal data either. But as long as your iOS device runs iOS 9.3 or later and was provided by your employer, the company will always be able to control that handset or tablet remotely, monitor your Internet traffic, and track a lost or stolen iPhone or iPad.
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Your data will still be protected, and the device is still encrypted as long as it’s protected by a password, PIN or fingerprint. But your employer will have access to it, just as it did before. What will change starting with iOS 9.3 is that Apple will better inform you that your phone’s software can be altered, and your web traffic can be monitored by the company that issued the iPhone.
iOS 9.3 beta 5 adds text in the About section of Settings and on the Lock Screen that makes these tracking features abundantly clear to the user, 9to5Mac reports.
“This iPhone is supervised. [Company Name] can monitor your Internet traffic and locate this device,” the message in the screenshot above says.
Apple’s new messages are meant to improve transparency regarding the safety and privacy of the iPhone. Companies have been able to manage a work phone using the built-in mobile device management (MDM) features of iOS for years. It’s only now that Apple decided to better inform users of how employers handle work iPhones and iPads.
iOS 9.3 will probably be released as soon as Apple announces new iOS products later this month, including the iPhone SE and a new iPad Pro.
