Using your own phone for work

Many people read work email and Teams messages on their own phone. That is convenient, but a personal phone is not managed the way a company computer is, so we need a way to protect business data on it without intruding on your personal life. This article explains how we do that.

Use the Microsoft apps

Use the Microsoft Outlook, Teams and OneDrive apps for work rather than the phone's built-in mail and file apps. The Microsoft apps can keep business data inside a protected space on your phone, separate from your personal apps and photos.

App protection with Microsoft Intune

Where your business uses Microsoft Intune, we can apply protection to the Microsoft apps only, without managing the whole phone. Typically that means the work apps ask for a PIN or your fingerprint, company data cannot be copied into personal apps or saved to personal storage, and the work data can be removed from those apps if needed. You may be asked to install the Microsoft Authenticator or Company Portal app to set this up.

What we can and cannot see

With app protection, we can see that the work apps are installed and protected and which version they are. We cannot see your personal email, messages, photos, browsing, location or other apps, and we cannot wipe your personal data. If your business chooses full device management instead, which is more common for company-owned phones, we tell you clearly what that covers before anything is set up.

Keep the phone itself secure

Use a screen lock with a PIN of at least six digits, or a fingerprint or face unlock. Keep the phone's software up to date, and install apps only from the official app store.

If you lose the phone or leave the business

If the phone is lost or stolen, tell us straight away (see Lost or stolen laptop or phone). We sign your account out and remove the work data from the protected apps. If you leave the business, we do the same on your last day. Your personal data, photos and apps are not touched.

Questions

If you are not comfortable having work apps on your phone, talk to your manager. Email hello@bitlogix.tech if you want to know exactly what is set up for your business.