Bringing free Android BYOD support to Fleet: the multi-platform home for every device

At Fleet, our premise is that businesses and employees should share a single, open platform to see what’s really going on with computing devices—and fix them. For a while now, we’ve done this for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, and Linux. Now, we’re excited to bring Android into the fold with new Android BYOD (bring your own device) support, for free. There will be more free and paid features coming soon, to be sure. However, basic features for Android management will be free forever, just like those of iPad and iOS. Like everything we build, this Android support is about more than just security checkboxes. It’s about employee privacy, transparency, and the freedom to choose your preferred devices—whether you work from home, at the office, or on the road.

Android: a separate space for your work life

Managing Android devices can get complicated, especially when employees also need to protect their personal data. With Fleet’s upcoming support, you’ll be able to create a work profile—a closed environment on an employee’s personal phone for company apps, email, and data.

• Privacy by design — Work apps and company data stay in their own container. Anything personal on the phone (photos, texts, browsing history) remains off-limits to IT.

• Security on tap — Administrators can enforce passcode requirements, push updates, or even wipe only the work profile if a device is lost or stolen. That means the rest of the phone stays private and untouched. In many regions, especially in Europe, it’s critical to balance regulatory compliance with an ethical approach to employee rights. Work profiles help companies do just that—by preventing the overlap of personal and work data and keeping employees fully informed about what data is being monitored and how.

Going beyond “free” with true transparency

Some companies rely on Google Workspace for free Android device management, but the reality is that cross-platform depth matters to modern organizations. Keeping iOS and Android updates consistent, running automated checks across all devices, or customizing configurations often means juggling multiple tools—and that can feel like a patchwork of half-measures.

Fleet brings everything under one roof, without leaving employees in the dark. Think of it as “bare-metal” access:

• One source of truth — Whether you’re looking at Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, or macOS, it’s all in a single system, so there are no blind spots or data silos.

• Employee trust — Every setting, policy, and data point about your device is transparent, just like the rest of Fleet. Anyone can see what’s gathered from a managed device and who has access to it.

• Open source core — Fleet software is open source. Similar to how people trust Signal Messenger because they can see how it works, employees and IT teams can look into the Fleet codebase, ensuring accessibility, transparency, and clarity.

“Why should I trust this?”

Companies adopt device management to meet compliance rules or protect against security threats—but that can backfire if employees worry about hidden or “Orwellian” monitoring. If they have no way to see what’s being tracked, or if they suspect anything invasive, trust evaporates.

• Open change management Fleet allows you to audit, customize, and edit policies and controls as needed alongside infrastructure-as-code workflows. This makes device management more agile and automated while reducing errors through peer review.

• No more silos — Instead of a separate system for each OS, Fleet busts the "cross-platform myth", with a different kind of multi-platform approach. That means fewer places where inconsistencies can happen and more efficient practices across the entire organization.

• Employee choice — With BYOD, you decide the phone that works best for you. (Android or iOS) Your privacy remains intact, because your work apps have their own “side” of the phone, leaving personal data alone.

Coming soon: Get involved early

Right now, Fleet’s Android BYOD support is hidden behind a feature flag while we refine the experience. We’re targeting general availability by mid-Q2, but we invite pioneering teams to:

• Join our early access — Provide feedback, test real-world scenarios, and help shape the final product.

• Ask about advanced policies — Our “bare-metal” approach means you can apply new Android Management API settings as soon as Google releases them—no waiting on slow software updates.

• Try multi-platform patching—Once Android is fully launched, you’ll be able to orchestrate OS updates across Android and iOS devices, unifying your patch management in one place.

Let us know if you have any feedback: fleetdm.com/contact