SkieCan staff turn off location on a managed work phone?
No. On a managed device, location reporting runs as a protected background service, and the user cannot switch it off. Location permission is granted automatically, airplane mode can be locked, and a device that goes silent shows as last seen and later as a breach. Use it only with clear consent and a written policy.
If location can be switched off by the person carrying the phone, it is not much use for safety or asset recovery. On a Skie-managed device, the setting is not left to the user.
Skie runs as the device owner, grants the location permission automatically and reports from a protected background service with a watchdog worker, battery optimisation exemption and retries. Airplane mode and mobile network settings can be locked, and date and time are forced to automatic. The Skie app cannot be stopped, uninstalled or have its data cleared.
What a person can still do is switch the phone off, remove the SIM or go out of coverage. Rules continue to be enforced offline, and location pauses until the device reconnects. The dashboard shows last seen with a timestamp. If the device stays quiet beyond the Due, Overdue or Breach thresholds you set, it appears in the breach centre. A missing check-in counts as a breach.
This is a powerful feature, and it needs care. Staff should be told that location cannot be turned off, what it records, which roles see it and for what purpose. Skie provides controls such as page access per role, while the organisation provides notices and consent. This is general information, not legal advice.
A practical tip: if you only need to know that a device is at a site, use geofences and look at alerts, rather than watching dots on a map all day.