SkieDoes Skie block hotspot and tethering on school devices?
Yes. Skie blocks hotspot and tethering with Android's tethering restriction, and it is on by default. A student cannot share the tablet's connection with another device, and cannot reach the unfiltered web by tethering a laptop or a second phone to a managed device.
Tethering turns a device with mobile data into a Wi-Fi hotspot, or shares its connection over USB or Bluetooth. It is handy for adults. In a school, it can turn a managed tablet into an unmanaged access point, and in a hostel, it can let a group of students share one data plan.
The tablet itself would still be filtered, but the device on the other end of the tether would not be, and it could carry content around the rules. Skie sets DISALLOW_CONFIG_TETHERING as the device owner, so the Hotspot and Tethering options cannot be switched on from Settings or the quick panel.
The protection is default on, listed in the hardening section, and read back from Android after every apply. The result is part of the compliance score. There is a related optional switch for Bluetooth in its own entry, and one for Wi-Fi Direct, since both can carry data between devices. Together with tethering they cover the main ways one device shares its connection with another.
Is there a reason to turn tethering off the block? A staff-only group using managed phones for fieldwork might need it. Set that at the group level, with a clear reason, and keep the rest of the school on the default.
Practical tip: mention in your policy that school tablets cannot be used as hotspots. It stops a lot of whispered workarounds in the hostel.