Every iPhone is in one of two policy states: supervised or unsupervised. Unsupervised is the default consumer state — the user controls all settings. Supervised is the enterprise state — the MDM controls a defined set of settings that the user cannot modify. Supervision unlocks removal of Safari, disabling of App Store, and all the other enterprise-grade protections. Unsupervised iPhones cannot enforce real protection because every restriction can be undone by the user.
Related terms
This term is connected to the broader supervised iPhone ecosystem. See the [full glossary](/glossary/) or return to [how it works](/how-it-works) for context.