Smoothwall Cloud Filter - iOS - Do you block Safari? Or Hide it?

[robyholmes]

Hi All,

 

For those people using Smoothwall Cloud Filter on iOS devices, IE via the Smoothwall Browser. How to you 'remove' access to Safari?

 

Do you 'Block Safari' using a device restriction

OR

Do you hide Safari using the 'Hidden Apps' device restriction?

 

The reason I ask is we've been having odd issues with Teams, OneDrive and sometimes Outlook not loading or updating content, when Safari is blocked. It looked like a web filter issue, but we now think it's linked to Safari being blocked. We block it, but I'm wondering if we should just be hiding it. Does this block other routes of access to it? IE from other apps etc.

 

Thanks, Rob

[mdking]

Yes, we hide safari and only allow the Smoothwall iOS browser (Firefox) 

 

We too have found problems with the Microsoft iOS apps, we have seen that the applications trying to use the native Safari app for it's applications. 

We use JAMF to allow these URLs though for the application. 

(So it's not filtering, it's just saying, if you are this URL allow safari to use it in the background) 

[robyholmes]

Don't suppose you have that list of URLs do you? Might come in handy.

 

We're going to do a bit of testing to confirm, but it does look like blocking Safari is causing this MS Apps issue (Although only seen in Teams & OneDrive currently, Outlook sometimes). I suspect we'll change to hiding it instead so we'll need to cut off any other routes it might have to using it which aren't pre-approved like MS365 for example.