Macbook from company but personal AppleID [closed]

Question

We are smaller tech company and we get to choose the device type for working, be it Linux, Mac or Windows. The device is property of the company, of course, but we were told for sign-in, to use our own personal Apple ID.

The MacBook was brand new, out of the box, never turned on, never set up before I got it, the only thing that says it is company is the sticker on the bottom (and of course based on SN if it was stolen or something they could find who payed for it). We are not using Apple business or something, just regular Google Workspace.

We do not have an "IT Department"; the hardware is usually bought by either one Team Leader who works as sort of IT Tech too or by regional manager in local stores or e-shops -- but the internet traffic is monitored (one of the colleagues had a problem for using TeamViewer to access some data on PC at home).

My question is, can my employer anyhow access the data on my iCloud when I have it on the "company owned MacBook" without my permission? Can they access the files or know what files I have on personal iCloud when I would for example take a photo of something on my personal iPhone and download it on the MacBook from iCloud to share it with colleague on Slack, since it is all synced with same AppleID?
Could they anyhow access my files or folders different way (thru the router based on traffic etc.?). Thank you!

Answer 1

My question is, can my employer anyhow access the data on my iCloud when I have it on the "company owned MacBook" without my permission?

Unless you give them access to your local credentials, your Apple ID credentials, or they have MDM (Mobile Device Management) software, they cannot access your files.

That said…

Don’t co-mingle your personal Apple ID with a company owned device.

The device is property of the company of course but we were told that for sign-in use our own personal Apple ID.

This is never a good idea. Here is just one example of what could go wrong: Resigned from a job, they are now asking me for my personal Apple ID and password to remove Activation Lock - does this make sense?

There’s a myriad of circumstances where you find yourself at their mercy because they will claim ownership of a device you’ve attached to your personal account. If this relationship goes sideways or they get legal summons, you might find yourself and your data on the wrong side of this relationship.

My advice is to not do this. They need to get Apple Business or something similar. This is exactly what it was designed for. If you must use an Apple ID, create a completely new one that you can treat as “disposable.”