User Experience

When adding a Cornell.edu exchange account on your iOS device, you see the following warning:

“Adding an Exchange account will allow the Exchange administrator to remotely manage your device. The administrator may collect personal data, add/remove accounts and restrictions, list, install, and manage apps, and remotely erase data on your device.”

Explanation

The native iOS apps for Calendar and Mail use the Microsoft Active Sync Protocol for communications, which includes the capability to lock or wipe a phone. The Exchange administrators can not turn off this feature. The Cornell messaging team has never used the capability to wipe a device. They also do not set policies to control how many days of data can be downloaded at once, or require a pin.  If a device is lost, the device owner can wipe the phone, if it is still active, using the Mobile Device Settings page in Outlook on the web.

What to Do

If you accept these settings, proceed with configuring your Cornell.edu Exchange Account.

Recommended: If you are concerned, use the Microsoft Outlook App for iOS instead. See Microsoft’s Outlook App for iOS Mobile support page for download and setup instructions. In addition to the steps listed there, you will also see Cornell’s NetID login screen.