Mandantory Apps & Whitelist appsSolved

Hey @tung-le, happy to be of assistance!

I’ll try to explain these two configurations as simply as I can. And if the length of the answer is bothering you, simply skip ahead to the last section ?

Mandatory Apps

If you add an application as a mandatory app, Hexnode will ensure that the app will be present on your device at all times. If the platform supports silent installation, the app will be installed automatically. And if the platform doesn’t, Hexnode will prompt the user to install the application instead.

And every time the user uninstalls the application, Hexnode will reinstall the app back to the device. The device will also fall out of compliance, and the technician will be notified of this development, provided the technician opted in for it of course.

Hexnode will not however bother with other applications present on the device. And the user is free to install and use any application of their choice.

App Whitelisting

App Whitelisting ensures that only the applications whitelisted by you are allowed on the target device. And if the user tries to install any application you haven’t specifically whitelisted on their device, Hexnode will block the app’s installation.

Hexnode will also restrict the users from accessing any of these preinstalled non-whitelisted applications.
In the case of Windows, however, the device simply goes out of compliance if the user tries to install a blacklisted application. The user can continue to use non-whitelisted applications without any interruptions.

A noticeable difference in this model is that Hexnode will not proactively install applications on the target devices just because you whitelisted an application. Nor is it going to prompt the user to install the application back if at all the user were to uninstall them from the device.

The Final Verdict

If you want to ensure that the application will always be present on the device, you can use the mandatory app policy. And if you want to ensure that the user only has access to the apps you permit, you can opt for app whitelisting. And if you need both, you can add the apps under whitelisting and mandatory app policies.

You can also check out our help documentation if you would like to read more about these topics.

Hope this helped!

Best Regards,
Audrey Black
Hexnode UEM