Hey folks,
I’m going to be getting a new laptop for work and it’s been … ages … since I’ve had an institutional computer. This laptop (a Mac) will be setup by IT and everything, and I’m wondering what you do about your Apple account in situations like this. Should I create a new one? I don’t want my photos and stuff on my work computer, but not being able to use messages/have safari sync/etc seems inconvenient (though surmountable). What do you do?
Thanks!
What do your employer’s policies say about this? Also, what do they say about their access to your personal information stored on their systems?
That’s a tricky one. I like the advice from @ACautionaryTale. First, find out what the employer’s policies are to see if you’re comfortable with that!
I have two clients who use Macs provided by their employers. One linked the device to their Apple ID (i.e., logged into their Apple ID), the other did not.
It was a mess when the person who linked their Apple ID retired. They did not have an admin account on that Mac, so they could not wipe it to remove all of their data. IT refused to give them an admin account temporarily and threw up all sorts of roadblocks to having any kind of reassurance that the data would be correctly removed/made inaccessible.
This exact case may be less of an issue for the current Macs and operating systems, especially for laptops, as they will likely be fully encrypted from the start. (Assuming your IT polices allow that.) But what’s more important is my next point:
I would definitely not use any of my Apple IDs (personal or a new work one) if I did not have an admin account. (It would be fine if my main account wasn’t an admin — just as long as there was an admin account on the Mac and I could use its password to authenticate.)
I would never set up my employer’s Mac with my personal Apple ID. It’s just too easy to co-mingle data, which makes it darned difficult to separate when you leave the job.
I really doubt you are going to want to comingle your own data on an employer computer.
It seems convenient -until one day suddenly you separate from the company and problems begin.
These are great points.
It’s a dilemma. I use personal iCloud on devices when it makes sense and is allowed. The big things I’m after are Continuity Camera, some utilities I’ve bought in the Mac App Store, saved WiFi and synced iCloud data in some apps.
I keep messages, photos, notes, contacts etc. disabled but that’s just a personal preference.
Logging out when switching companies is no problem since I know what I’m doing, but I have dealt with that issue before with a former coworker’s laptop. So just be sure you know the steps to completely disassociate devices.