Securing a company phone & tablet on the go

Mobile devices go missing more easily than an office computer — they get carried around, left behind, sometimes stolen. The good news: the most effective safeguards are usually already built into the device and just need to be switched on.

A screen lock is mandatory, not optional

PIN, pattern, fingerprint, or face recognition — some form of lock should always be active. An unlocked device means whoever picks it up gets instant access to email, photos, and anything reachable from there.

Turn on encryption

Modern smartphones encrypt storage by default once a screen lock is set up — on older devices or some tablets, it's worth checking the settings to confirm it's actually active. Without encryption, data on a stolen device can sometimes still be extracted.

Set up remote wipe before you need it

Both Android ("Find My Device") and iOS ("Find My") offer free features to locate, lock, or fully wipe a lost device remotely. This has to be set up in advance — by the time the device is actually lost, it's too late.

Separate personal and business use

For devices used both personally and for work, some kind of separation is worthwhile — whether through mobile device management (MDM) or at least separate user profiles. This also makes remote wipe cleaner: only the business data gets removed, personal photos stay untouched.

A clear reporting rule for the team

The most important organizational point: a lost or stolen device needs to be reported immediately, without anyone hesitating out of fear of getting in trouble. The faster a device gets locked or wiped, the smaller the window for misuse.

The best safeguard is useless if it only gets set up after the device is already gone.