Over the last few years, the kiosk mode feature offered by Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions has gained popularity due to the flexibility it provides to manage mobile devices. The kiosk is a lockdown mechanism that restricts a device to access specific apps or web pages. It turns a traditional mobile device into a dedicated single-purpose device.

Kiosk mode is commonly used in situations where a device has to perform a specific task only. For instance, information kiosks are widely used in healthcare facilities, hospitality, museums, retail stores, and other public places. The Mobile Device Management solutions offer different types of kiosks that include web kiosks, single-app kiosks, and multi-app kiosks. Following is a detailed description of all these kiosks.

Single App Mode

The single-app mode can be considered the simplest form of kiosk mode in which a device is limited to run a pre-approved application only. The single-app kiosk is applicable in places where a device is used for performing a particular task, such as self-service kiosks in retail stores, digital signages in hospitality, and information kiosks in airports. It restricts the device to a single app while blocking all other features, apps, and functionalities of mobile devices.

Once the single-app kiosk is activated, the user is unable to switch between different apps or even access a device without admin access or a passcode. This enhances the security of a device and prevents it from unauthorized access and other malicious activities to exploit a device and gain access to corporate’s sensitive data.

This kiosk mode is quite easy to configure and provides the easiest solution to restrict a device to run a single application in the foreground. However, it is not practical for situations where multiple apps are needed to perform business tasks.

Multi App Mode

It is a more advanced form of kiosk mode that allows users to access selected apps on the device while disabling all other apps, functionalities, and features. It is quite useful in situations where the user needs to access multiple apps to perform the intended task.

For instance, this mode is applicable to healthcare setting where physicians have to access multiple apps for accessing patient records, laboratory test results, allergies information, previous history, and other medical reference materials for providing quality health treatments.

Moreover, this mode supports customization options for branding. In multi-app mode, the admin can set the organization’s logo on the home screen for branding. Similarly, the fonts and color schemes can be modified that are aligned to the organization’s theme for a better user experience.

In addition, the multi-app mode allows administrators to customize the device settings which includes disabling access to certain device features like the camera, downloads folder, app store, etc., or setting up device settings, such as setting the device wallpaper or configuring the device language. This mode is more flexible in comparison to single-app mode as it ensures access to multiple apps while locking all other device features.

Web Kiosk Mode

This kiosk mode limits the device to access a single website or set of web pages that are approved by admins and other managerial staff. In web kiosk mode, a device is restricted to accessing certain web URLs only while blocking all other websites, apps, and other features of a device. It is useful in areas where access to specific web pages is required. For instance, it is used in schools for conducting examinations and online quizzes.

This mode is easy to configure and maintain as it locks down a device to a limited number of web pages therefore providing technical support and troubleshooting is comparatively easy. However, it is not practical for places where users have to access multiple websites for performing tasks.

To conclude, the kiosk is the most useful feature of the MDM solution which locks down a device to specific apps or web pages. Each kiosk mode has its own advantages and disadvantages. To gain maximum benefit from this feature, the admin must select the most appropriate kiosk option depending on their requirements.