Hi all, my company just rolled out blackberry 8830's for everyone. The rumor going around is that the company can track where you are with the phone.

I did a little research of my own and found the option for E911 and Location on. I have my phone set to E911. However, I read somewhere that since the BB feature is talking to the mail server all the time there is a way for it to communicate your location to the server.

I am not sure how much of that is true? Anyhow, can anyone tell me if the 8830 can be tracked by the company? Thanks

PS Our company is on the Verizon Network

To do it easily, they would need an installed GPS tracking application on your device.

The BES can log most of and much of all you do on your BlackBerry, but it takes an installed application to track your physical location. There is always the good ol' cell tower triangulation method where they can pinpoint you with say a mile diameter, without the tracking application.

The short answer is yes, they can track you. Whether or not they are currently is another story. But there is a setting on the BES that allows them to do that.

CO, does the BES setting track their GPS location? On a GPS-disabled Verizon 8830?

It is my understanding that the BES can retrieve the coordinates from the device if the GPS is active with location on. I've heard back-and-forths from BES admins who are still trying to figure out HOW they can use this raw data. I haven't read about successful tracking & interpretation however.

Again, with the hitches VZW has placed on the GPS functionality, it may only work when you're running the VZ Nav application.

I wish someone knew the exact answer. I guess only someone working internally would know...

Are you really that worried about it?

There is no exact answer. There are just too many variables; Is your GPS on, is it a Verizon device, is your location set to on, or just 911? Is your BES admin good, or REAL good?

I think this feature is still so relatively new that nobody knows how to effectively use it yet. Rest assured the BS'ers will come out soon and claim to have it working better than anyone else.

AS HAS BEEN SUGGESTED MANY TIMES, in similar threads (yes, you are not the first to ask this question): during work hours, don't go where you are not supposed to be. You are in their employment. During off hours, leave your BB aside. If you employment requires your BB during off work hours, it is your personal time, and you won't need to worry if they know where you are at the time.

Unless of course, you're moonlighting at the competition... or have some morality contract that would get you fired for being at a "gentleman's club."

Haha no I am not. It's just that I am one of the most technical guys in our company and everyone who got these new phones are asking me questions. I am trying to get them concrete answers. We work in the field, so everyone is concerned that the company is going to be watching when they haven't left home at 9am or are home before 5pm...

If the company has reason to believe that their employees are skimming hours, this might be the best way to catch them or scare them straight.

Real question is not if the employer is tracking you it is who else is watching. For those of you not paying attention ask yourself why do we have the 911 function in cell phones. If you take your personnal cell phone into a "gentlemans club" someone can/is tracking you.

Now you can be paranoid.

Cue X-Files music.

I agree with what JS said - as long as you're doing what you're supposed to be (and you're where you're supposed to be) on the job, it's nothing to worry about. If users are asking, that's probably a sign they're up to something they shouldn't be. Or so my cynicism tells me.

Here's an article where a man was likely fired after the gps tracking of his cell phone confirmed his employer's suspicions that he wasn't where he was supposed to be on the job.

xxx39;TRACKxxx39; TRICK - New York Post

If it is a Sprint BB 8830, then they can track the phone even if it has no tracking application installed and/or running.

With or without BES service.

& how about Verizon?

Sorry, I don't know about Verizon. I work for Sprint and that is a service that we offer. It is becoming more and more requested, too.

simple answer is yes they can.

We have a few devices enabled for location tracking and I have written code to query the data (live and historical) and display it in real time in Google Earth (well if you call 15 minutes real time), which can be displayed on a large plasma if needed.

In the UK you have to notify the employee that the device is being tracked and if they use the device outside of the employed time period it has to have the functionality to have the tracking turned off.

Therefore you just have two IT policies on the BES, one without tracking and one with, update the SQL tables the BES uses at scheduled times to turn tracking on and off.

Oh great, Thanks for the pain staking reassurance!