Topic
This article discusses how to set Android application roles in NinjaOne Mobile Device Management (MDM).
Environment
- NinjaOne Mobile Device Management (MDM)
- Android
Description
Application roles for Android Enterprise give you greater control over business-critical apps, ensuring they continue to run reliably without interruption. By assigning trusted applications to privileged roles through NinjaOne policies, you can protect essential apps from Android power management, background execution limits, app suspension, hibernation, and user actions that could disrupt business operations.
- You can assign each role type to only one app per policy.
- Role-based exemptions from power and background execution restrictions require Android 14 or later.
- Preventing user control for apps with roles requires Android 11 or later.
- A single app can hold multiple roles simultaneously.
- NinjaOne has deprecated the Kiosk install type in favor of the Kiosk role. To replicate existing kiosk behavior, set the app's install type to Required for setup and assign the Kiosk role. Existing kiosk configurations continue to function.
- For apps assigned any role other than Kiosk, you cannot set the User control option to Allowed.
Available Roles
The following roles are available for Android Enterprise applications in NinjaOne MDM.
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Kiosk | Sets the app as the device's home screen and pins it to the display, preventing users from navigating to other apps or accessing system controls. Use this role instead of the deprecated Kiosk install type.
|
| Mobile Threat Defense / EDR | Use this role for Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) applications.
|
| System health monitoring | Use this role for system health monitoring applications.
|
Assigning a Role to an Application
Roles are configured per application within an Android MDM policy.
- In NinjaOne, navigate to Administration → Policies → MDM policies and select an Android policy from the list.
- The policy editor will open. Navigate to Applications → Management, then scroll to the Managed applications section.
Place your cursor over an application and click the Actions icon when it appears, then select Edit from the drop-down menu.
- In the Edit applications policy window, select a role from the Roles drop-down menu and click Update.
