Mobile Guardian offers two apps, one for iOS and one for Android, that enhance the functionality of the dashboard. This guide will cover the various sections and features of these applications.
Overview
The Mobile Guardian applications allow for:
- Safe Browser: Opens the Home Page configured in the dashboard for a specific profile.
- Bookmarks: Users can add bookmarks within the browser.
- My Catalogue: Users can view and download apps, books, and media sent via the web dashboard.
- Syncing: Sync the device with the web dashboard to align any changes.
- About: Shows more technical information.
- My Classes: View available classes, both active and non-active, linked to your device.
Safe Browser
This browser is used when other browsers are disabled on iOS and Android. All web history and web filtering information is recorded and applied.
Configuring Safe Browser
- Navigate to Profiles: Click on βProfilesβ in the navigation panel on the left-hand side.
- Edit Profile: Click on the edit icon then click on the βSafe Contentβ section.
- Safe Content: In the profile, under What, select and edit the Safe Content section.
#Note: This is needed for non-supervised iOS devices where web-filtering cannot be activated in Safari. On Android, Mobile Guardian cannot hook into 3rd party browsers, so they need to be disabled to force browser activity through the MG safe browser.
Bookmarks
Users can create bookmarks as they browse, similar to web browsers.
My Catalogue
My Catalogue allows administrators to control the content pushed to the device and provides users the option to download a pre-defined list of books and apps.
Apps
Administrators can decide to auto-install the app (Apple VPP only) or allow users to download the app (self-install). This can be accessed through the Applications View by clicking on the settings tab which includes a Self-install Settings configuration.
Configuring Apps
- Settings Tab: Select the settings tab which now includes a Self-install Settings configuration.
- Auto-Install vs Self-Install: Set up similarly to Auto-install Settings, with the selection of Tags, School-owned or Home-owned device flags to allow users to download.
#Note: If the profile restricts the use of the app for a specific schedule or location, the app will be hidden from the user and the profile restriction remains.
Media
Administrators can push media (Web URLs, Videos, Audio) to the device based on tags. These will be displayed in the My Catalogue section like apps.
Note: Profile restrictions still apply. For example, if YouTube is restricted and the media item is a YouTube video, it will still be blocked unless YouTube is allowed or the specific URL is whitelisted.
Books
Books work similarly to apps, with minor differences depending on the book type. VPP books can be pushed to devices, and users can view them from the iBooks section or open them from within the app if they are PDFs.
Important Notes:
- Know the type of App/Book/Media you want to allow.
- Be aware of available licenses (e.g., VPP licenses).
- Understand profile restrictions as they affect access.
About
The About page shows technical information about the device, including the current app build version, support desk email address, applied profile, and last successful sync date and time. It also includes a manual Sync button to update the device state before the application syncs automatically.
Please let us know if you found this helpful!
Thanks for reading! π