The Complexities of Shared Apple Mobile Devices

• Many organizations such as retail stores and hospitals have mobile devices that are shared by multiple users and not permanently dedicated to a single user.
• Apple mobile devices have many limitations in shared-use scenarios that can create security and reliability problems without proper configuration.
• Most organizations should purchase shared devices through Apple’s device enrollment program and manage them with Intune or a similar service.

Shared Apple iPads and iPhones are typically owned by the organization and used by multiple users throughout a workday or workweek, rather than being assigned to a specific user. Unfortunately, because iOS and iPadOS were not originally designed to support use by multiple different users, this scenario creates challenges in how the devices must be deployed and managed. Organizations must understand the limitations of the platforms—particularly for iPhones—when a single device will be shared by multiple users regularly.

Shared Apple Mobile Devices

Unlike Windows or even Apple’s own macOS, iOS and iPadOS (the OSs that run on iPhones and iPads, respectively) rely heavily on consumer-driven single-user configurations that revolve around Apple iCloud accounts. iCloud is the identity infrastructure provided by Apple that is used to set up and secure Apple devices, and in addition is used to manage device synchronization and purchases from Apple’s digital app and content stores.