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Android 12 for Enterprise: Everything You Need to Know

  Remi Keusseyan  ·  2 minute read

Editor's note, October 2026: This article was first published in August 2021 and reflects the state of Android 12 at that time. Google ended security updates for Android 12 and 12L in spring 2025; the April 2025 Android Security Bulletin no longer covers these versions. For the current release, read Android 17 for Enterprise: The Policies to Review Before Rollout.

While predominantly offering new consumer-focused features, Android 12 also streamlines security and privacy in ways that make device management easier for enterprises.

Streamlined security and privacy

Android 12 introduces a new Privacy Dashboard that gives a quick, clear overview of which apps have recently accessed sensitive data and sources such as location, microphone or Bluetooth, and lets users change those permissions quickly. It can also obscure the user's location for specific apps, so they do not get an exact position. That protects user privacy while still allowing the apps to work.

Android 12 also brings changes that need to be considered from an enterprise perspective to ensure a smooth transition and to maintain security and control.

Managing devices with Android 12

With Android 12, the three management modes remain the same:

  • Android Enterprise with Work Profile: for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) deployments where the device is personally owned. Users can access work mail and apps on their own device without compromising security.
  • Android Enterprise Fully Managed: for Corporate Owned, Business Only (COBO) deployments where full control over device and data is required, with little to no room for private use. Typical for regulated environments such as federal administration and government.
  • Enhanced Work Profile (EWP): for Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled (COPE) deployments. The device belongs to the company and is fully managed, but leaves the user a walled garden for private apps and data. It was introduced with Android 11 to replace Android Enterprise Fully Managed with Work Profile.

There are relevant security and privacy enhancements for all of them.

Work Profile devices

This applies to both personal and corporate-owned devices with a Work Profile:

  • A new enrollment-specific ID uniquely identifies a Work Profile enrollment within a specific organization, for private and corporate-owned devices alike, and remains unchanged even after a factory reset. This avoids duplicate device records while still keeping track of devices across enrollments, which makes lifecycle management easier and more accurate. For privacy reasons, access to other hardware identifiers such as IMEI, MEID and serial number is removed on personal devices, so these identifiers are never visible to or stored on corporate systems such as a UEM.
  • End users can grant specific permissions to access sensitive data sources for each Work Profile app, unless their IT administrator explicitly denies them. These include location, camera, microphone, body sensors and physical activity.

Company-owned devices

This applies to fully managed devices and company-owned devices with a Work Profile:

Other enterprise features

These are not tied to a management mode or ownership type:

  • Privacy and transparency: IT administrators can decide whether to manage sensor-related permissions on fully managed devices or leave them to the user, who is then prompted to accept or deny the permission when an app first uses it. Administrators can always deny permissions.
  • Network configuration: The Device Policy Controller (DPC), the component on the device that lets an EMM or UEM manage Android Enterprise devices, can now retrieve the list of configured Wi-Fi networks without the location permission. On personal devices only work networks are returned; on fully managed devices the DPC can additionally ensure that only corporate-approved networks are configured.

Which devices will support it?

The first supported device was to be the upcoming Pixel 6, along with an upgrade for the existing Google Pixel lineup. Other Android devices receive Android 12 as it becomes available, pending OEM and carrier approval.

Planning an Android rollout or a move between management modes? Our trainings cover Android Enterprise in depth, and our team supports endpoint management projects end to end. Contact us with any questions.