What the technician's phone does not carry

A service phone gets left in a van, dropped at a petrol station and handed to a seasonal worker in June. What is on it matters.

Good to know

The technician's app never receives the address, the gate code, the alarm code or where the key is kept. Not hidden in the interface — not sent to the device at all. There is nothing to find by looking harder.

What it does receive, because the work is impossible without it:

• the name of the property and the customer,
• the map pin, so navigation works,
• pet information — a dog in the garden is a safety matter,
• security notes and special instructions,
• access notes,
• the cover photo, so the right gate is recognised.

Why the pin and not the address: navigation needs a point. A postal address would additionally tell anyone holding the phone which house on which street is empty for the winter.

Access notes are yours to write carefully. They are sent to the device. "Key under the third pot" belongs in the office record, not here.

What it does not do

This is not encryption and not remote wiping. It is a decision about what travels — the strongest available protection is that the data was never sent.

Somebody signed in on the phone can see today's route. Removing a person from the team removes their access; a signed-in session on a lost phone should be ended by changing their access.