My company requires employees to use their personal cell phone for many business purposes, such as client information and clocking in.

27 Comments

1. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 2:15PM UTC

   That would depend on the laws where you live.

2. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 2:44PM UTC

   If you are using your personal phone, they should be reimbursing you for payment. As for spying, first companies don't have the bandwidth to spy on employees regardless of what you think or have heard. They haven't allocated headcount for big brother to watch you. If there are performance or other concerns then they may review your activity on your laptop. If you download Outlook and other company required apps for security purposes that may give them the ability to monitor your work email on your phone and to erase your phone should you leave, but it odes not give them the ability to see you social media activity or text messages. HOWEVER, should your work related text or emails be subject to a subpoena or other legal action, your phone, ipad or other devices with work related access, its content and activity could be discoverable through that legal process.

3. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 6:15PM UTC

   I work in IT and I can tell you for sure that companies are 'spying' on their employees. There are entire software packages designed exactly for that purpose and no, you usually are not able to see the software they are using and yes, they can see what you are doing pretty much everywhere.

4. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 12:24PM UTC

   Thank you for verifying this.

5. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 1:38PM UTC

   I second that, I also work in IT and yes, they do have software packages that keep track of everything you do on your phone. Your work phone, your work computer are fair game. They know it all. Personal phone not so much unless you have downloaded an APP to use for work purposes, access behind the company firewall. I am like the one poster, if I were a client and found out my information was on an unsecured personal phone, I would be furious to say the least.

6. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 1:47PM UTC

   Many companies actually have explicit headcount, software, and processes allocated to monitoring electronic communications, including on cell phones.

7. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 3:00PM UTC

   Are you having to conduct work via your personal cell-phone or is it used as a single-sign Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)? While this is best answered by your internal HR department as IT policies vary by company, the intention of an MFA is to protect employee and company information, not exploit it.

8. Cindy LaceyAugust 2,2022 at 12:20PM UTC

   My company tried to require me to use my phone for this purpose. I told them I didn't have enough storage to download the app. They had to supply me with a token instead. (It was true). I also wasn't sure if it was entirely innocent and they were not paying for my phone. Personal is personal.

9. AnonymousAugust 3,2022 at 6:23PM UTC

   I tried this. They said it's my responsibility to have a cell phone that is capable of doing the job required.

10. Cindy LaceyAugust 4,2022 at 2:51AM UTC

    Considering they weren't paying for it, I would not accept this argument. I guess you are in a different situation.

11. AnonymousAugust 4,2022 at 6:05PM UTC

    I would be tempted to change my cell phone to my significant other's name and claim I don't have a cell phone in my own name. Sorry. (Someone I know actually did this & suddenly the company came up with a cell for them-magic!).

12. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 5:40PM UTC

    In the past, I've always been given a work phone for company business as the organizations wanted to keep their private information off employee's phones.

    That being said, my last role required me to buy a high-end phone without compensation and didn't contribute to the bills each month. I will never work for a company again that requires this as I received work calls at night and on weekends for a type of organization that didn't require after-hour calls.

    This is a red-flag and they breached my personal details knowing I was job searching from my own device. I found out later on that that our IT but a tracing system on our personal cell phones. I was the one paying the bill and during my own time, they shouldn't have any data on my usability.

13. Julie HumbirdAugust 1,2022 at 6:30PM UTC

    This depends on what they are requiring you install on your device. I agree with others, this sounds like they are just protecting their data on your personal device and additional login protection. However, research anything they request you install. We have some shady employers out there trying to track employee activities.

14. AnonymousAugust 1,2022 at 9:27PM UTC

    That is strange, are they too cheap to give you work cell phones?
    If I was a client I would be pissed off if my business information is not better protected and could be traded to a competitor for a nominal fee is not protected. Not by you per say, but for personnel cell numbers that do not have the high-level security infrastructures to protect against hackers.

    So do they have permission to spy on you?...Depends with all the paperwork you sign before starting, you would have to read it carefully enough and understand the legal riggamaroo to determine if they cleverly put the language for you to give them permission, but the wording is too confusing and masked for you to realize. I would assume if you downloaded anything it opens you up to be spied on yes by even your company, ESPECIALLY if you your phone holds proprietary information or their clients, who would likely terminate services with your company if they found out.

    If you can afford to and if you really like your job environment, perhaps invest in a seperate phone you only use for work, so your pesonnal info is not exposed.

15. Afo Ogbeyalu KaluAugust 2,2022 at 12:31PM UTC

    For your own peace of mind, order an inexpensive, unlocked smartphone and unlimited plan, dedicated to these types of calls, and expense it.

16. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 1:12PM UTC

    Get a separate phone for work things. Doesn’t have to be fancy and yes, will cost you (will they reimburse some or all of the cost?).

17. Lindsay LoyAugust 3,2022 at 4:53PM UTC

    No, they don't offer reimbursement at all. ☹️

18. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 1:45PM UTC

    Yes. If they had you install any software to get this setup working, they probably already have full access to your phone. Ask to have them buy you a company phone or reimburse you for use of your personal phone, but then get a separate phone and keep your work and personal ones totally separate.

19. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 2:41PM UTC

    My company asks that we use our personal cell phones and we merely submit copies of our bills every month and the pick up the tab (including new phone purchase charges). I purchased a brand new iPhone and it's paid for by my company.

20. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 4:10PM UTC

    I found it to be highly annoying and personal. One company I worked for did this. Their reimbursement rate was $25.00/month and they would often 'forget' to reimburse me. I still get calls years later on my phone. Recommend you get another phone just for business use.

21. Toni Rucker HayesAugust 2,2022 at 4:22PM UTC

    I would definitely get a second phone for business purposes. Hopefully they will offset some of the costs.

22. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 7:36PM UTC

    When I started my current position (I'm in HR), I insisted on them providing me with a phone. Always keep the two separate. Now that said, I've recently heard about people keeping two different sim cards for their phone (or something like that, I'm kinda old and that technology is a bit beyond me) instead of carrying two phones. But the thing is, I don't want my personal intertwined with my work. Especially with some of the stuff I do. Does this answer you question, no. But I'd be wary about any thing I do with my phone if it's dual purpose.

23. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 9:37PM UTC

    Ooof I have lots of thoughts about this because I've been on both sides of this. I've worked for a company that provided business phones only to exec members of the team, therefore, the rest of us were not required to use our personal phones for business.

    Then, I worked at a company that no longer issued business phone to mid-level management and below (execs had biz phones only) but they gave us a $60 phone stipend per month to conduct "business" on our personal cell. I mainly used my personal device for business emails but even still, I found this a bit reckless. It's a bit invasive with personal/business privacy then again, getting $60 a month wasn't bad.

    Now I work for a new place where they do not issue any business phone but they do expect you to download biz apps using "secure protocols/ biometric screening" to access certain applications. We do not get a monthly stipend to do this so, I decided to never download my email app since I started. I only keep Slack open but even that's a bit invasive and probably violates privacy laws. I say all that to say, I'm not a fan of using my personal device for business stuff, especially, when I'm not be compensated for it.

    At the end of the day, it's my phone so I choose what I do and don't subscribe too. It may not be company policy but this feels very cheap, unsafe, and unprofessional. I know folks have brought this concern up to my current leadership but it feels like it has fallen by the wayside.

24. JJAugust 3,2022 at 2:58AM UTC

    No they do not have the right to do so, unless you sign something.

25. AnonymousAugust 3,2022 at 3:11AM UTC

    Something else to keep in mind: if you use your personal cell phone for business purposes regardless of company apps downloaded, etc. it can be subpoenaed in the event of a lawsuit or federal investigation.

    I once worked a consultant position where the client used monetary incentives to get us to use our own phones (if their internet went down, we could continue to bill our hours as long as we were able to access our work email). But the agreement we had to sign also stated that if our phone had to be turned over due to a subpoena we would only receive a $150 one time payment to offset the cost of getting a new smart phone. Considering what they cost, it wasn't something I was willing to do. Not to mention turning all of my personal data on the phone over to Lord knows who.

26. AnonymousAugust 3,2022 at 5:06PM UTC

    Thank you all so very much for all the feed back! I really appreciate it.

27. Angie MartinAugust 7,2022 at 1:48PM UTC

    I'd buy a burner phone for this.