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Boss gave me phone with tracking device



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amother


 

Post Fri, Jul 12 2013, 3:09 pm
My position changed a little and I am spending more time out of the office. My boss insisted on giving me a company phone (I didn't want it and tried to get out of it). Anyway, its a blackberry which I know my way around a little so I turned off the GPS because I knew of the possibility of being tracked. I have nothing to hide but I don't want to feel like I'm being watched every second. Besides I'm entitled to an hour of lunch and its not my boss's business where I go for it.
Today I was going through the applications and I found Blackberry Accutracker. I impulsively deleted it which I regret now.
A few questions:
How should I handle the situation? Aproach the boss or ignore it?
If GPS is off can Accutracker still find my location?
Should I reinstall the application?
If I don't reinstall the application what am I supposed to say to the boss if/when he asks me about it? I can say something stupid like the phone crashed but don't know how that would fly.
How do you people feel about a boss tracking an employee's cell phone (owned by the company) when the employee has the phone 24 hrs (meaning even when I'm home at night or off from work)? I feel like my privacy is being invaded. I'm not working for him 24 hrs so he has no business tracking me when I'm not working for him.
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Shana_H




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jul 12 2013, 3:22 pm
If you work 40 hours a week outside the office, your boss can perhaps track you but only for those 40 hours, after that you should prob just leave your work phone at home. Your after hour activities are none of his business, your lunch time isn't either. Nurses in hospitals have trackers attached only when they are on duty. If you have the kind of job where you're on call, then you should keep your work phone on, but only for your on call hours. You should absolutely not have your work phone with it's tracking devise on 24/7, unless of course you're being paid a couple million dollars a year and the phone requirement was in your contrace of hire!
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little_mage




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jul 12 2013, 3:29 pm
While I understand why you're feeling invaded, the tracker probably had nothing to do with you personally, and more about keeping track of the phone. There have been multiple news stories about company data being compromised because an employee's cell phone or other mobile device has been stolen or lost. The tracker was probably so that if something happened to the phone it could be found and possibly wiped.
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naturalmom5




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jul 12 2013, 4:33 pm
I understand your concerns, but if I was your boss , I would fire you on the spot for deleting the tracker .
I hope he is smart enough to have the app that records apps that were deleted
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amother


 

Post Fri, Jul 12 2013, 5:53 pm
Op here
Ok, I decided to reload the app. But have the GPS off (which I turned off as soon as he gave me the phone) so I'm not sure if it will even work with GPS off. Anyone familiar with it?
As far as tracking company data - I don't believe that was his intenion.
There are no 3rd party apps on the phone so I don't think he will be able to see that it was deleted and reloaded unless he actually looks at it on the phone.
I can leave the phone at home as long as I'm not stopping on my way to or from work. What if I go shopping on my way to work/ Why is it his business that I shop early in the morning or where I shop? I go straight to work so leaving the phone at home is not an option then.
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amother


 

Post Fri, Jul 12 2013, 5:59 pm
Op again
I also wonder to what extent is he allowed to monitor me/the phone legally. I know there's been a case about a company putting a trackeron an employees personal vehicle. I know its not my personal phone but it is my personal time outside of business hours and atlunch time. If anyo e has info on this please post it.
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amother


 

Post Fri, Jul 12 2013, 5:59 pm
amother wrote:
Op here
Ok, I decided to reload the app. But have the GPS off (which I turned off as soon as he gave me the phone) so I'm not sure if it will even work with GPS off. Anyone familiar with it?
As far as tracking company data - I don't believe that was his intenion.
There are no 3rd party apps on the phone so I don't think he will be able to see that it was deleted and reloaded unless he actually looks at it on the phone.
I can leave the phone at home as long as I'm not stopping on my way to or from work. What if I go shopping on my way to work/ Why is it his business that I shop early in the morning or where I shop? I go straight to work so leaving the phone at home is not an option then.
What happens if you turn off the phone when you go somewhere? Can it still be traced?
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amother


 

Post Fri, Jul 12 2013, 6:04 pm
Op here
I don't know how the app works so I don't know what happens when the phone is off. I have turned the gps off but don't know if it matters. Anyone familiar with the blackberry accutracking please weigh in.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jul 12 2013, 6:07 pm
amother wrote:
Op here
I don't know how the app works so I don't know what happens when the phone is off. I have turned the gps off but don't know if it matters. Anyone familiar with the blackberry accutracking please weigh in.
If you take out the battery, he won't be able to track you, even with the app installed on the phone.
Just get used to doing this as needed.
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jul 13 2013, 2:53 pm
Discalimer: I don't have any experience with this. I'm just googling because I thought this is an interesting issue.

According to this:
http://support.accutracking.co.....00012

You can adjust the frequency at which the tracker sends signals. So mayebe you can adjust it so it sends every 24 hours, and set this hour to be a time when you are at work anyway (10:00 AM or so).
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5*Mom




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jul 13 2013, 5:04 pm
Do you start and end your day at the office? If so, can you leave the phone at work at the end of the day and pick it up from work in the morning so you don't have it when you're on your own time?
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groisamomma




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jul 13 2013, 10:27 pm
Tracking you during work hours is legal. Removing the battery disables this feature, so just take it out during your lunch and non-work hours.
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amother


 

Post Sat, Jul 13 2013, 11:16 pm
5*Mom wrote:
Do you start and end your day at the office? If so, can you leave the phone at work at the end of the day and pick it up from work in the morning so you don't have it when you're on your own time?

Op here
I do not start or end at the office so this is not a suggestion.
To the poster who posted about setting the interval - thank you but from what I saw on their site the person tracking can get an extensive report with all the data they request at whatever interval they request. So I think that if I were to change the interval on the phone there is a way for my boss to get what he wants anyway by changing the settings online.
It looks like I'll be taking out the battery a lot.
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familyfirst




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 14 2013, 12:32 am
Good luck! I can imagine it becoming difficult to remember to remove the battery, especially when you're not interested in everyone knowing where you're going, but the hassle could be worth your sanity (and privacy!).
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oatmealcookies




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 14 2013, 1:41 am
Idk abt bb but I know an iPhone can be tracked even without the find my phone app as long as its iCloud is set up for the tracking. Meaning anyone can log into the iCloud to track it. This doesn't work when the phone is off. If I were u I would shut the phone at 5 and not turn it on again until the next day at 9 and u can do the same during ur lunch break. During the hours ur working he should be able to track u and if u have nothing to hide I would let it be. He's prob not sitting by his computer tracking u unless he really has nothing better to do....
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imamiri




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 14 2013, 1:57 am
It the tracking app there in the event someone stupidly loses the phone? You might be surprised, or not, to find out that many people are just careless with equipment they do not own. I've worked in offices where, "Uhhhh....lost my phone/dropped it down a sewer grate/it's in a toilet/I have no idea...could be at the beach still" were sadly too common. Trackers allow the phone to possibly be found.
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myself




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 14 2013, 4:53 pm
Be straightforward, ask him for the reason behind the tracker. Perhaps it's not for the reasons you think, perhaps he never checks it, perhaps he doesn't care if it's turned off? Doesn't harm to ask! You can also tell him that you feel uncomfortable being tracked out of office hours and see what he suggests.
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