What BYOD and the work profile are
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) means employees use their own phones for work. The challenge is to protect work data without taking control of a phone the company does not own.
Android solves this with the work profile. It is a separate area on the phone with its own apps and data. Work apps show a briefcase badge, and the work and personal sides cannot read each other’s data. The management app becomes the profile owner of the work profile only, not the owner of the device. See device ownership models and what Android Enterprise is.
What IT can and cannot do
With DeepManage on a personally owned device:
| IT can | IT cannot |
|---|---|
| Install, update and remove work apps in the profile | See or manage personal apps |
| Apply password and security rules to the profile | Read personal messages, photos or files |
| Restrict sharing between work and personal apps | Wipe the whole phone |
| Remove the work profile and all work data | Share or capture the screen |
Some policies that would reach beyond the work profile, such as Wi-Fi or screen capture settings, are not applied on personally owned devices. Live Control is also refused there, because the shared screen would include personal apps.
How enrollment works
The employee installs DeepManage and opens the enrollment link or QR code from IT. DeepManage then starts Android’s standard work profile setup, which explains to the employee what is being created. After setup, DeepManage runs inside the work profile and receives its policy. Enrollment can be tied to a named user or done without a user and assigned later. More on the device enrollment page.
On older or unusual devices where Android does not allow a work profile, DeepManage tells the user before going on and enrolls as a basic device admin, which supports fewer policies.
COPE: company-owned, personally enabled
In COPE, the company owns the phone but allows personal use. On Android 11 and later, the device is enrolled during setup with a work profile and marked as organization-owned. The work profile is managed as in BYOD, and IT can also apply some device-wide rules, while the personal side stays private.
Privacy and data protection
A work profile helps you respect employee privacy, but you still need to tell employees what is collected and why. Read MDM and data protection for an overview of KVKK and GDPR duties. This is general information, not legal advice. Device-side terms acceptance is covered on the security and compliance page.