Does Skie read students' messages?

Skie works at the level of Android's device owner controls. That gives an organisation the power to decide which apps are allowed, which websites open and when the device is available. It does not give Skie, or the organisation, a window into what is typed or received inside those apps.

This is a deliberate design choice, not a missing feature that is coming later. Reading messages would change the product from device management into surveillance, and schools that want one do not usually want the other. Skie has no hidden mode either, so the student can always see that the device is managed.

What an administrator can see is the management picture: which device belongs to which student, which apps are installed, whether the device follows its policy, when it last checked in and, where the organisation has switched it on, where it is. That is enough to run a programme and to answer most parent questions without opening anyone's conversations.

If a school is worried about a messaging app, the control is on the app itself. Block it in the app list, allow it only in certain windows, or keep it off the devices altogether. Skie also has an SMS switch and an outgoing-call switch for organisations that want to turn those functions off.

A practical tip: say this plainly in your parent and student communication. Many objections to school device programmes come from an assumption that messages are being read. A single clear sentence saves a lot of questions later.

• No reading of messages, chats or emails
• No hidden mode, the device shows it is managed
• Control comes from app lists, schedules and switches
• Messaging apps can be blocked or limited to set windows