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I have an iPhone 7 Plus. I connect to the corporate Exchange Server (via Outlook 365) using the plain Exchange account settings (under Passwords & Accounts).

In other words, I have not installed any VPN software or anything like that. My phone is about as basic as can be.

I connect to the Exchange server using a username and password with a URL of outlook.office365.com. Nothing else.

I've been told by corporate that they have the ability to remotely wipe my phone. I don't see how but I'm not an expert. When I log into the web portal of Outlook and go to Mobile Devices, I also see an icon that says it can wipe my phone.

My concern is that this is a personal phone that I pay myself and some rookie IT admin could accidentally wipe my phone. Which is a major invasion of privacy. I connect to my corporate email account (at their request) using this "generic" connection.

So my question is, can they really wipe my phone if they chose to? I've asked for verification on this but I cannot seem to get a real answer from them.

Thanks

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    Not sure how this if off topic.
    – cbmeeks
    Commented Mar 10, 2020 at 14:31

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If I'm reading the documentation on this feature correctly, then if the account is added as a system-wide account, the answer is yes. If you are just using the Outlook app and have your Exchange account signed in only on that app, then an ActiveSync wipe will destroy all data for the app only:

With Outlook for iOS and Android, a remote wipe is done on the Outlook app itself, and does not trigger a full device wipe

(from Microsoft's documentation on the Outlook App for Exchange)

If it's a system-wide account, then all data on the device will be lost:

This procedure will clear all data on the mobile phone, including installed applications, photos, and personal information.

(from Microsoft's documentation on Exchange ActiveSync)

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