Smartphones are the number one way people compute nowadays, and as a result businesses have begun to require mobile access for their employees. This means that businesses are trying to use their employees’ smartphones as a resource. Google has developed a great tool for businesses and employees, alike. It’s called the work profile and today, we will give you a quick overview.

What is the Work Profile in Android?

The work profile is a separate profile that contains all the applications your business requires a user to use. It is available for devices that run Android 5.0 or newer. Not only does it partition off these apps from the personal applications that they have on their device (typically downloaded through the Google Play store) it gives the organization the ability to add applications to their user work profile as needed. Since these profiles are controlled by an IT administrator, the organization has full control. 

Organizations that utilize the Google Workspace productivity suite now have the capabilities to disseminate everything their employees need in one package. For users, this is advantageous as well, because you can turn the work profile off. Many workers have problems with the seemingly never ending notifications that come in from their work accounts; and when they are off the clock they can quickly turn the work profile off and turn it on again when they are on the clock. 

By separating the applications and data on the phone, your organization can ensure that they not only have control over the applications that are on employee devices, they can ensure that no problematic data that could find its way onto a person’s daily smartphone will impact the work resources that individual employees need to be successful. 

How to Turn the Work Profile Off in Android

It is really simple to turn your work profile off in Android. All you need to do is go into the system tray by swiping down from the top of your screen on your homepage once to open your notifications tray, then swiping down again to access the system tray. This is where you find a lot of the quick toggles that make the Android OS so accommodating. Typically, the Work Profile toggle will be on the second screen, so you’ll need to swipe to the left to access those options. You simply need to press the Work Profile toggle off to keep from getting work notifications, and toggle it back on when you are on the clock. That’s it!

The Android Work Profile is a great addition to any organization's Mobile Device Management strategy. Unfortunately, as of this writing, Apple doesn’t have a dedicated work profile plan, but there are ways to contain business applications in the iOS operating system. If you need help setting up your business’ MDM plan, give the IT experts at PC PLACE a call today at (909) 435-4220.