How to Check if Your iPhone Is Supervised - AppleToolBox (2024)

Organizations that rely on Apple devices for daily operations usually monitor how employees use the respective devices. In other words, if your employer hands you out an iPhone to use as your work phone, chances are they’re constantly monitoring and supervising the device.

Of course, some employers prefer to simply trust their employees and don’t resort to any behavior tracking tools. After all, trust is even more important nowadays as most people are working remotely.

In this guide, we’ll show you how you can check if your iPhone is supervised or not. We’ll also talk about what activities and data your employer can track.

How Do I Know if My iPhone Is Supervised or Managed?

  1. On your iPhone, navigate to Settings and select General.
  2. Then tap About.
  3. If your phone is supervised, you should see a message informing you “This iPhone is supervised and managed by [company name]“.

How to Check if Your iPhone Is Supervised - AppleToolBox (1)

If there’s no such message, this means your iPhone is not supervised.

How to Check What Your Administrator Is Supervising

If you’re curious to learn what your admin is supervising on your iPhone, check your iOS settings. Navigate to Settings, select General and then tap Profiles & Device Management.

How to Check if Your iPhone Is Supervised - AppleToolBox (2)

If your admin uses a profile to control what features you can access, tap on that profile to check what changes they made.

What Can My Admin Track on an iPhone?

Your admin or employer can monitor various things on your iPhone. Here’s a list of some of the most common activities they usually track:

  • The location of your phone.
  • Your Internet traffic.
  • The apps you regularly use.
  • The amount of time you spend using your phone.
  • Your browsing history.
  • Admins can also remotely install and remove apps from your iPhone.

⇒ Quick Note: Your admin needs to put your iPhone into Managed Lost Mode to be able to check your current location. The good news is that when they do that, your iPhone automatically locks and displays a message on the lock screen. So, at least you’ll know when they’re tracking your location.

Can My Employer See My iMessages?

Your employer can see how many iMessages you sent or received, but they cannot open and view your messages remotely. So, you can breathe a sigh of relief as far as that matter is concerned.

Can I Remove Supervision From iPhone?

How to Check if Your iPhone Is Supervised - AppleToolBox (3)

If your iPhone is supervised, in most cases, only the company that owns the device can disable supervision via the Apple Business Manager. This service allows companies to manage their devices, accounts, and apps.

As a regular user, you normally don’t have access to your company’s Apple Business Manager. If you have any questions or requests about the supervision policy, you can contact your IT admin.

However, if your company uses the Apple Configurator 2 to deploy devices, you may be able to reset your iPhone to factory settings and remove supervision. But if the company deployed your iPhone via the Apple Business Manager, you won’t be able to remove supervision even if you restore the phone.

Moreover, both the Apple Configurator 2 and Apple Business Manager offer a dedicated setting that admins can use to block access to the reset feature. So, you may not be able to reset your iPhone after all.

Buying a Used iPhone

If you decide to buy a used iPhone, check if the device is supervised or not. If this is the case, don’t purchase the phone. A device still locked to a company account indicates the seller has no legal right to sell that iPhone. Legally speaking, that device still belongs to the company, and it’s not the seller’s personal device.

Conclusion

If you use an iPhone as your work phone, expect no privacy during working hours. Most likely, your employer is monitoring your device, especially in today’s work-from-home context. The best approach is to avoid using your work iPhone for private matters. And if you want to enjoy peace of mind, turn off your iPhone after you call it a day.

How to Check if Your iPhone Is Supervised - AppleToolBox (2024)

FAQs

How to Check if Your iPhone Is Supervised - AppleToolBox? ›

You can find out if your iPhone or iPad is supervised by looking at the settings for your device. The Supervision message is found at the top of the main Settings page. Your organization also has the option to display a custom ownership message on the Lock Screen using the Shared Device Configuration profile payload.

How do you tell if my iPhone is being monitored? ›

How can you tell if someone is spying on your iPhone?
  1. Your phone gets really hot. ...
  2. Your battery drains quickly. ...
  3. Your monthly data usage is inexplicably higher. ...
  4. Your phone reboots unexpectedly. ...
  5. Your phone takes a long time to shut down. ...
  6. Your phone has been jailbroken. ...
  7. You're hearing background noise or electronic interference.
Aug 9, 2022

How do I know if my iPhone is under MDM? ›

First, you may see the notice saying This iPhone is supervised and managed by (name) in the main Settings page. Second, some apps' prifile notices locate in Settings > General > About. And the third place to see if your iPhone has MDM is to in Settings > General > VPN and Device Management.

How do you check if my iPhone is linked to another device? ›

From the Devices section of your Apple ID account page, you can find all of the devices that you're currently signed in to with your Apple ID, including Android devices, consoles, and smart TVs: Sign in to appleid.apple.com,* then select Devices.

How do I remove this iPhone is supervised and managed by? ›

The steps to remove device supervision from iPad/iPhone through settings are the following: Go to Settings > General > Device Management. Then, tap the name of the MDM profile to see the available options. After that, tap the Remove Management option.

What does *# 21 do on an iPhone? ›

When you dial *#21#, you are, in fact, activating a feature access code that quickly tells you the status of call forwarding for your phone. It's a quick way of seeing what, in the case of this particular 'setting interrogation code,' your call forwarding settings. That's it, nothing more or less.

Is My phone being monitored or tracked? ›

Go to Settings – Applications – Manage Applications or Running Services, and you may be able to spot suspicious looking files. Good spy programs usually disguise the file names so that they don't stand out but sometimes they may contain terms like spy, monitor, stealth, and so on.

Is it possible to remove MDM from iPhone? ›

How to Remove MDM from iPad or iPhone Via Settings? Choose Settings > General > VPN & Device Management> MDM Profile and Remove Management.

What options are under Device Management on my iPhone? ›

MDM lets you securely and wirelessly configure devices by sending profiles and commands to the device, whether they're owned by the user or your organization. MDM capabilities include updating software and device settings, monitoring compliance with organizational policies, and remotely wiping or locking devices.

Can you remove Apple MDM? ›

You can remove devices that are being managed by Profile Manager, which unenrolls them from device management, removes all settings, and removes any custom apps and books on the device. Two of the most common methods are to remove the device from Profile Manager or have the user remove the MDM profile from the device.

How can I see if my phone is linked to another device? ›

Review devices
  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. On the left navigation panel, select Security .
  3. On the Your devices panel, select Manage all devices.
  4. You'll see devices where you're currently signed in to your Google Account or have been in the last few weeks.

Can an iPhone be monitored remotely? ›

Secure your phone against physical access

Spyware can be loaded onto your iPhone remotely via a malicious app, or physically if someone gains access to your phone. Use long and unique passwords for all your accounts and two-factor authentication to secure your personal data.

How do I find hidden apps on my iPhone? ›

Unhide apps on your iPhone or iPad
  1. Open the App Store app.
  2. Tap the account button , or your photo or initials, at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap your name or Apple ID. ...
  4. Scroll down and tap Hidden Purchases.
  5. Find the app that you want, then tap Unhide.
  6. To return to the App Store, tap Account Settings, then tap Done.
Nov 8, 2022

How do I delete supervised? ›

Important: To stop supervision on your child's device, it must have Android 7.0 or higher.
  1. On your child's device, open Settings . ...
  2. At the top right, tap More Stop supervision.
  3. To verify you are a parent, sign in or use your Parent Access Code.
  4. To turn off supervision, follow the on-screen instructions.

How do you bypass this iPhone is supervised by another computer? ›

How to Remove Device Supervision from iPhone
  1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Find and tap Device Management.
  4. If your iPhone has an MDM profile, you will see it in Device Management.
  5. After that, choose Remove Management and enter the password (this password is the MDM configuration password).

How do I remove supervision from my Apple device? ›

Part 2: How to Remove Device Supervision from iPhone?
  1. Step 1: First, head to Settings > General > Device Management.
  2. Step 2: Click on the MDM profile that you want to remove, and then choose the Remove Management option.
  3. Step 3: Enter the password when prompted to bypass the restrictions on your iPhone.
Apr 27, 2023

What is * 3370 on iPhone? ›

For iPhone users, it turns out there's a little-known code that may help boost your cell reception: *3370#, followed by tapping the "call" button. "If you ever find yourself somewhere getting poor cellphone reception, type in this code to turn on 'enhanced full rate' mode," writes Jayna Taylor-Smith on Reader's Digest.

What does * 77 do on iPhone? ›

Dial *77. You should hear three beeps, which means that calls that come through as Private, Blocked or Anonymous will not come through. Suddenly, you'll be receiving far fewer unwanted phone calls than you are now. You can turn off this feature by dialing *87.

What is * 57 on iPhone? ›

Activate Call Trace

Pick up the phone and press *57 (touch tone) or 1157 (rotary). You'll hear a confirmation tone and message will be heard If the trace is successful. You must keep a written log of the date and time of harassing calls to retrieve Call Trace information.

How can I tell if my phone is being monitored by a spy app? ›

If someone is using spyware to spy on your phone, you might notice the following changes to your phone.
  • Mysterious data-use increases.
  • Rapid battery drainage.
  • Phone overheats.
  • Strange noises during calls.
  • Phone gets sluggish.
  • Suspicious changes and charges.
  • Signs of activity in stand-by mode.
  • Slow shut down & start up.

How do I make sure my phone is not being monitored? ›

The best way to block phone tracking is to use a VPN. But you can also change a few settings on your phone or switch to a different browser to stop tracking. You can hide your location via settings, block ad tracking with a dedicated private browser, and encrypt all of your internet traffic with a VPN.

What do I dial to see if my phone has been hacked? ›

Use the code *#21# to see if hackers track your phone with malicious intent. You can also use this code to verify if your calls, messages, or other data are being diverted. It also shows your diverted information's status and the number to which the information is transferred.

Does factory reset remove Device Management? ›

Full wipe: A full wipe will return a device to factory settings. All information will be removed. This includes MDM control, leaving the device completely unmanaged.

Can you permanently remove MDM? ›

Go to iPhone/iPad settings > General and scroll down to find VPN & Device Management. Tap on VPN & Device Management > MDM Profile > Remove Management. You will be prompted to enter your login information or passcode to remove MDM.

How do I uninstall me MDM? ›

How to uninstall MDM agent from the managed Android device?
  1. On the managed mobile device, go to Settings.
  2. Navigate to Security.
  3. Select Device Administrator and disable it.
  4. Under Settings, go to Applications.
  5. Select ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus and Uninstall the MDM agent.

What can Apple MDM see? ›

Once users are enrolled in MDM, users can easily view in Settings which apps, books, and accounts are being managed and which restrictions have been implemented. All enterprise settings, accounts, and content installed by MDM are flagged as managed. This includes Wi-Fi and VPN configurations and password requirements.

Will jailbreak remove MDM? ›

Although jailbreaking seems to be an easy option to remove MDM, it involves a lot of risks. Here are the most common risks. Loss of warranty from the manufacturer. You can't update software until a jailbroken version is available for the same.

How do I delete a non removable MDM profile? ›

Here's how to remove a non-removable MDM profile

Boot the Mac into Recovery Mode (hold down command+R during startup). Go to the Utilities menu and open Terminal and type: csrutil disable . This will disable SIP (System Integrity Protection). Reboot into the OS.

What is the 3 digit number to see if your phone is tapped? ›

Code to check if phone is tapped: *#21# Code to show unknown connections and tracking (for Android): *#*#4636#*#* or *#*#197328640#*#* Code to show unknown connections and if someone is tracing you (for iPhone): *3001#12345#*

How can you tell if someone looked through your phone? ›

Thank you for subscribing!
  1. Check browsing history. Promoted Stories. ...
  2. Screen time usage. In your phone's settings, you will be able to see all your screen time activity. ...
  3. High data usage. ...
  4. Messages have been read. ...
  5. Receiving strange texts. ...
  6. Check your app carousel. ...
  7. Deteriorating battery life.
Feb 20, 2023

Can I check my iPhone for spyware? ›

If you're concerned that someone may have installed spyware on your iPhone, run a quick scan with the award-winning Certo AntiSpy. This industry-leading spyware detection tool finds threats and helps you to remove suspicious apps and spyware from your iPhone.

Can someone access my iPhone without my knowledge? ›

iPhones are vulnerable to hacking despite being more secure than Android devices. Hackers can exploit security loopholes in the iOS operating system or third-party apps to gain unauthorized access to your device, steal personal data, or install malware.

What are disguised apps? ›

A decoy app is a sneaky on-device tool that lets anybody hide secret photos, videos and messages, under the cover of an innocent-looking icon.

What is Apple supervised mode? ›

With supervision, your administrator can apply extra restrictions like turning off AirDrop or preventing access to the App Store. It also provides additional device configurations and features, like silently updating apps or filtering web usage. By default, your iPhone or iPad isn't supervised.

Why is my iPhone supervised? ›

Supervision gives organizations control over the iOS devices they own and manage. With device supervision, you can apply additional restrictions like turning off AirDrop or disabling the App Store. Supervision can only be turned on when a device is being set up as new.

How do I enable supervised mode in iOS? ›

How To Configure iOS Devices in Supervised Mode
  1. Install and launch Apple Configurator 2 on a Mac.
  2. Attach iOS device to Mac.
  3. Tap [Trust] on our iOS device.
  4. Click on iOS device in Apple Configurator 2.
  5. Select [Prepare…] under Actions menu.
  6. Enable Supervise devices. ...
  7. Do not enroll in MDM. ...
  8. Select New Organization…
Nov 17, 2022

How do I bypass captive Apple? ›

There's no way to disable Apple's portal-connection behavior: it's intended and expected. The only way to avoid seeing it is to never connect to public hotspots that require a portal to log in.

Will DFU mode erase MDM? ›

Remove MDM of Some App by Using DFU Mode

One option for removing mobile device management restriction imposed by some app is to use Device Firmware Update (DFU). DFU is how you allow your device to communicate with iTunes without activating a boot loader or iPhone OS.

How do I bypass restricted access on my iPhone? ›

1. How to Turn Restrictions Off on iPhone with Apple ID
  1. In Screen Time settings page, select Change Screen Time Passcode, and tap on Turn Off Screen Time Passcode.
  2. Here you need to enter the old screen time passcode. ...
  3. Then enter your Apple ID and password to reset it.
Jun 14, 2022

How do I turn off parental supervision? ›

Android Phone or Tablet
  1. Open the Google Play Store app.
  2. Tap your profile image in the upper-right corner.
  3. Tap Settings.
  4. Tap Family.
  5. Tap Parental Controls.
  6. Tap a category (i.g. "Apps & Games," "Movies," TV," "Books.")
  7. Enter your PIN.
  8. Tap Allow All and tap Save.
Jun 14, 2023

How do I turn off child supervision? ›

Tap Manage Settings Account Info Stop supervision. Confirm you want to remove supervision. Tap Stop Supervision and follow the on-screen instructions.

How do you reset a managed iPhone? ›

Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset. Choose an option: WARNING: If you choose the Erase All Content and Settings option, all of your content is removed.

How do I stop my iPhone from monitoring? ›

Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. The list shows the apps that requested permission to track you. You can turn permission on or off for any app on the list. To stop all apps from asking permission to track you, turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track (at the top of the screen).

Can someone watch you through your iPhone? ›

Yes, a partner, parent, or even employer can gain remote, real-time access to your iPhone using spying software. Spyware can track your GPS location, record your keypad inputs such as credit card numbers and passwords, and monitor your calls, texts, app usage, emails, voice, and other personal data.

Is my phone being remotely accessed? ›

Monitor the applications running in the background of your device and check whether there are any unknown applications. Notice significant increases in device temperature and decreases in battery life. These often indicate your Android device is being accessed remotely.

How do I remove my phone from monitoring? ›

How to Stop Your Android Phone From Tracking You
  1. Turn Off Location, Wi-Fi, and Mobile Data. ...
  2. Pause or Delete Your Google Activity. ...
  3. Turn Off Personalized Search Results. ...
  4. Turn Off Ad Personalization. ...
  5. Delete Your Advertising ID. ...
  6. Remove Permissions From Unused Apps. ...
  7. Uninstall Apps You Don't Need.
Jun 26, 2022

How do I get rid of someone monitoring my phone? ›

Fortunately, you can easily view permissions and prevent location tracking on your Android phone by following these steps:
  1. Go to Settings > Location.
  2. Tap App permissions.
  3. Tap the app you want to view and change the setting under Location access for this app.
Jan 24, 2022

How do I turn off phone supervision? ›

The supervised mode can be removed by resetting/wiping the device to factory settings (Erase all content and settings) if the supervised mode was enabled using Apple Configurator.

How do I stop being monitored? ›

Top 12 Ways To Stop Being Tracked Online
  1. Use an anti-tracking browser. ...
  2. Use Tor Browser. ...
  3. Use an anti-tracking extension in your preferred browser. ...
  4. Use a private search engine. ...
  5. Clear private data when closing your browser. ...
  6. Use a VPN. ...
  7. Set your devices to “do not track” ...
  8. Stay private when it comes to public WiFis.

How do you know if someone can see you through your phone camera? ›

For Android
  • Open your Settings app.
  • Tap Privacy.
  • Tap Permission manager.
  • Tap Camera.
  • Review the list of apps with access and remove any you don't recognize.
Jan 31, 2023

How do you catch someone snooping on your iPhone? ›

Check Screen Time

Go to iPhone's Settings and open Screen Time. Then, tap See All Activity. The summary of your weekly and daily activity will be displayed. For example, if it shows Messages being used on your iPhone at a time when you were away from it, it means someone might be reading your messages behind your back.

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