Limit mobile data usage to a specific application

[perpetualdream]

Hi,

We are an organization that needs to give its employees mobiles to use a specific application. The thing is, we don't want our employees to use the mobile data plan on other applications.

Would it be possible to block the mobile data for all the other applications and limit only the data usage to our application?

Or in the case the above didn't work, can I limit the app usage as a whole to our application, i.e.: block all other applications to be opened?

Thanks!

 

[Rukbat]

Either one is possible. Is either one practical? That depends on the number of phones we're talking about, because it's not a 99 cent app. If you want to do this on a few phones, get unlimited data plans. (Straight Talk and Net10 use any of the big 4 carriers - your choice - and you can use as much data as you want, your speed gets cut once you reach a limit. (Then you can tell your employees to buy a new card and start the month over again.)

If you're talking about a few hundred phones or more, hire a good Android developer (you should have as much trouble finding one here as you'd have trouble finding water at the bottom of a lake), and have him or her write the app you need. (No, this is not a solicitation - I'm retired and wouldn't take the job if you begged me.)

 

[WoohooGuy]

As already suggested hire a development person/company to create a custom ROM based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP - Android Developers) and flash it to all the devices you hand out.

You can also lock down all the devices using one of many "kiosk" apps available that restrict the device use to certain applications.

For example - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gears42.surelock

 

[WoohooGuy]

I forgot to mention that if you restrict a device to the point where it is only completely functional for work purposes than you will inevitably notice the devices are generally not used, left behind, forgotten, "too hard to use", and "lost".

Make it functional for work but don't be so militant your employees regret having to lug it around as a second wheel.

You need a fine balance of productivity and freedom of occasional personal use so the device is actually used for work or it will be cast aside and employees will use their personal devices to waste even more time while your tech investment sits next to a month old fast food french fry in their car.

Create a test platform and put it in the hands of a small group of your most trusted and hardest working people to start, get their feedback, and respect it.

Above all, if your company deals in sensitive data, disable/forbid the ability to connect to public wifi points unless the devices are configured to use a VPN so all data is encrypted before it even leaves the device.

 

[BigRedGonzo]

Obviously, you must put client and company privacy and security at the top of the list. So whatever must be done to accomplish this is the top priority. After that put yourself into this scenario...

You are Bob.
"Here Bob, we have just bought this nifty new device for you to use to do your job. We certainly do not trust you enough to follow the company rules to use these items, so we have hobbled them to the point where nothing on them works."

Now your are Tom.
"Here Tom, we have just bought this nifty new device for you to use to do your job. Here are the rules we expect you to follow in the proper use of company property. To keep costs down we have opted to pay for limited bandwidth with our data service, so, if you do use this for other than company business, please keep the use to a minimum. Since this is company property, personal use is still governed by company policy."

Would you respect company property more as Bob or Tom?