Hi. Hope everyone is well. I keep a close eye on privacy issues on my iPhone. Recently, I noticed that “managed device” under Privacy & Security—>Location Services was toggled on. I did not turn it on, and my phone is not a managed device. Could the fact that this was switched on indicate malware or anything bad, or did an iOS update perhaps just flip it on or something harmless like that? (I’m up to date on all software.) Thank you!
Why don’t you just turn it off?
In addition to MDM, your phone can be managed if you have a work or school MS Exchange email account on it.
All System Services default to ON, so the fact that it is on doesn’t mean anything.
Why don’t you just turn it off?
In addition to MDM, your phone can be managed if you have a work or school MS Exchange email account on it.
All System Services default to ON, so the fact that it is on doesn’t mean anything.
The switch for Managed Devices does nothing unless your phone has a Device Management profile installed. If there is such a profile the switch can turn it off, if the management administrator allows it to be.
Go to Settings/General/VPN and Device Management. If you don’t see a management profile there, and you don’t have a work or school email account on your iPhone then your phone is secure.
Keep in mind that whether it is on or off doesn’t matter unless your iPhone also has an MDM client or an MS Exchange email account.
Have you up updated iOS recently? Updates frequently turn on all settings.
Thank you for your reply. I turned it off immediately, but that begs the question of how it got on in the first place. It wasn’t on a few days ago when I last was in Location settings. I only have three System Services toggled on for Location, so I notice changes immediately. I had previously turned that option off, but it turned back on without my having done so. My device is not managed, and I do not have a work or school account of any kind on it. Thanks again for the insights.
Yes, I keep the phone current on all updates. I wondered if it was just a glitch of one of the recent updates. But everything wasn’t toggled on — just the three I always leave on and one additional, managed device. It was just odd. I’ve never had location settings change without my doing it. Thanks, again, for your interest and insights, Lawrence.
I just saw the exact same thing -"managed devices" switched on. Extremely disturbing if you value privacy and security. Mine is not a managed device. I'll get to the bottom of this when I have more time. "Just turn it off" doesn't get the implications of this at all. All Apple's options need to be configured off" by default. (I hate switching Siri off for each app I add, also.) I've noticed other irregularities with "File and Folder" access to Apps that were never given (another Apple security issue with a recent update, IMO.)
Thank you!
Couldn’t agree more. Thanks for replying!
iPhone: 'managed device' setting unexpectedly on
