Disabling the location based services in Endpoint Protection Mobile console

Products

• Endpoint Protection Mobile

Issue/Introduction

Symantec Endpoint Protection Mobile provides active location based protection for each device. Some organizations may need this setting disabled per contractual requirements or on a case by case basis. Turning off this setting impacts the service as the device will no longer identify suspicious networks without enabling location based services. This is applicable to both Android and iOS devices. 

Environment

Organizations which require Location Based Services to be disabled can configure this setting in the Symantec Endpoint Protection Mobile - Mobile Device Management Console. 

While the disabling of 'Location Based Services' is not recommended and impacts the active scanning of suspicious networks, Symantec understands the necessity in limiting the tracking of employees through 'Location Based Services.' 

The Location Setting can be changed to one of three options: Mandatory (Recommended), Optional (Allow Users to enable/disable setting), and Never ask for permission.

Mandatory - Requires all devices to have 'Location Based Services' enabled

Optional - Allows the Organization to have multiple devices with 'Location Based Services' enabled or disabled depending on organization preference

Never ask for permission  - Requires the setting in the "PERSONAL DATA" section titled "Security Incident Location" be unchecked. This selection will remove the "Suspicious Networks near you" from the Symantec Endpoint Protection Mobile home screen as shown below

Resolution

1. Log into your Symantec Endpoint Protection Mobile - Mobile Device Management console
2. Left click the 'SETTINGS' tab
3. In the left side panel, locate and left click 'Privacy Controls'
4. Upon clicking 'Privacy Controls' you will see two subsections in titled in blue as, "PERSONAL DATA" and "APP PERMISSIONS"
5. Scroll down to "APP PERMISSIONS"
6. Find the "Location" drop down menu
7. The 'Location' drop down has three options: Mandatory (Recommended), Optional (Allow Users to enable/disable setting), and Never ask for permission
   
   The 'Mandatory' setting is recommended as Symantec Endpoint Protection Mobile uses Location Based Services to actively analyze and provide up to date suspicious network information to the device. 

       8. The 'Optional' setting will allow 'Location Based Services' to disabled on both Android and iOS devices. On the end device, 'Suspicious Networks' will appear in gray and when pressed will show the map page which display the message "Tap to enable Location Services."

       9. Once finished click the 'Apply Changes' button which appears at the top of the console screen. The changes will be effective and sent to the end device at that time.