Android 11 lands with plenty more privacy preferences for Pixels and special Google friends first Google has loosed Android 11 on a waiting world. The company is again delivering the update to owners of its Pixel phones on the day of release, and to some phones from OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO and realme. Those of you using other mobe-makers’ tin get to wait until those vendors get their act together. Among the updates are …
"Protecting and preserving a user's privacy does not impact a device's overall security but rather prevents an admin from viewing potentially sensitive info such as personal apps"
Translation: Privacy stops with whoever administers your device - even if it's off, we'll still slurp it.
“Privacy stops with whoever administers your device”
That’s the whole point, isn’t it ? If it’s your personal device, do with it what you want. If your employer provided it, as the owner of said device your employer may want to control it in some way. Don’t like it ? Buy your own, but you may have issues with accessing company resources.
I provide company owned phones to employees, and I’m getting a bit fed up with people wanting the latest Apple/Samsung shiny every year for free but have issues with the fact that we require some form of control, even if policy explicitly states that the control is *only* to be used in case of loss or theft, and every action by every admin is dumped in an audit log.
Quite right. If an employer wants employees to have a phone for company business, then they should provide one. If an employee wants a phone for personal business with no employer control, they should buy their own. If this means carrying two phones, so be it.
I for one see carrying two contemporary smartphones as no nuisance at all: when I first applied for a job one would have to carry a briefcase with a sleek Thinkpad, thick ADK, a huuge brick phone (private cellphones just got to that somewhat affordable price range), a Sony walkman or discman, let alone a compact camera with at least three rolls of Kodak to get through the day with enough material for ... well there was no Instagram back then so no reason to take a snap of every trivial bit one would set an eye upon throughout the day. And a reel of CAT5 for the rare opportunity of getting some Internets for free.
Two flat, slim, lightweight all-in-one tools is a lottery jackpot in comparison. Coming to think about it, how about the employer supplying one half of a folding Samsung and the employee buying the other one?
"That’s the whole point, isn’t it ?
In a word: "No!"
I perfectly understand my work phone's administrator wanting to have access control. What I object to is the fact that I - or my company's admin - cannot completely control privacy further up the line under these conditions.
Or have we forgotten that Google's view on "security" is that they think they have a god-given right to slurp our data even when we tell them not to?
@RyokuMas : valid point. But the comment was about extra privacy for users on a company provided phone. Nobody knows what Google, or Apple, or Samsung, or actually get as data. Most users we give a phone to don’t give a flying f*ck about what Google gets, but some are apparently terrified that their employer might possibly know their whereabouts (while there are strict policies in place about requesting those violation, with immediate termination on violating those policies). While they are sharing their location to everyone with a Facebook account.
Frankly, the biggest issue I have with this story is that nitwits with company phones will use it to go to HR and IT departments to get a new shiny that runs Android 11 because “privacy”.
"Most users we give a phone to don’t give a flying f*ck about what Google gets"
In that case, I'm proud to not count myself as "most users"... :D
I entirely agree that there will be quite a few PHBs who use this sort of thing as an excuse to get a new phone - given that the whole objective of phone sellers these days is to hawk new handsets every couple of years, I am not surprised in the slightest when I hear about the latest OS "enhancements" that require the latest devices...
The issue is that we should be giving a flying f*ck about what unelected bodies with effective monopolies over their sector get from us, data-wise. And as IT professionals, it's up to us who understand just how deep this invasion of privacy goes to educate "most users", not just dismiss it.
Never mix personal and professional data.. When a phone gets lost down the back of the couch or slips down the side of the car seat, and the IT Admin hits the wipe button because of company policy, tears will flow when that same telephone appears again....
PS : Apple find me or Track my phone aren't failsafe tools.
Now, as to that security update on my android 6.0.1 handset...
....
You want me to do WHAT?!
...
No, I'm not gonna buy a "new, attractive and breakthrough handset bristling with exciting, cutting-edge technology and must-have features".
...
Well, you can stick your "extended insurance cover" up your crack!
"If a work profile is added from the setup wizard using the provisioning tools added in Android 11, the device is recognized as company-owned and a wider range of asset management and device level controls are made available to the device policy controller,”
Why I have a dual SIM phone and the company gets to hand me a SIM card and that's it!
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