Answers

Frequently asked questions.

The questions technology directors, principals, and parents ask most — answered plainly.

Does Focus track student location or activity off campus?

It can, and your school decides how much. Focus always keeps a device's current last-known location available to administrators — the Live Map and device page answer where a device is right now. Whether a historical location trail is stored is set by an org-wide Monitoring policy with three modes: Lockdown only (the default) records location only while an emergency lockdown is active; Inside geofence only records location only while a device is on campus inside a managed geofence, with no off-campus trail; Always records every location heartbeat, including off campus, for schools with a documented operational need. In every mode Focus does not collect browsing history, messages, or app content — and policy enforcement itself stays bound to the campus geofence and school hours. Because the school administers this setting, families should ask their district which mode it uses.

How is Focus different from our MDM (Jamf, Intune, Google)?

An MDM manages devices as assets — inventory, OS updates, app installs. It is not geofenced or schedule-aware, and pushing a policy change to a whole fleet can take many minutes. Focus adds a real-time control plane on top of your MDM: it enforces the school day automatically and locks the entire fleet in 2–3 seconds. It runs alongside your MDM — no rip-and-replace.

What is the battery impact?

Under 3% of daily battery. Focus uses efficient silent push rather than constant polling, so devices stay responsive without the drain that always-on monitoring tools cause.

How fast is Emergency Lockdown?

A single click locks every enrolled device in 2–3 seconds — fast enough to matter during a drill or real emergency, rather than waiting on a polling cycle.

How do students enroll?

Devices enroll in under a minute by scanning a QR code. The policy is baked in at enrollment, so there is no per-device configuration and no help-desk pileup on rollout day.

Can we allow exceptions for medical needs, IEP/504 plans, or a specific class?

Yes. Focus supports per-student and per-class carve-outs so you can honor educational, medical, and IEP/504 exceptions without disabling the program for everyone else. Teachers can also grant authorized in-class exceptions.

What devices and platforms are supported?

Focus is designed for the managed devices schools actually run — iOS/iPadOS and ChromeOS 1:1 fleets, with Android support on the roadmap. Tell us your fleet mix during the pilot and we'll confirm coverage.

What data does Focus collect, and where is it stored?

Focus collects the minimum needed to enforce policy and produce compliance reports — device enrollment identifiers, campus/schedule state, and policy events. It does not collect browsing history, message content, keystrokes, or app content. Device location is captured only according to the Monitoring policy setting, which defaults to lockdown-only — recorded only while an emergency lockdown is active. See our privacy policy and security overview for detail on storage and retention.

Is Focus compliant with our state's phone law?

Focus is built to enforce the outcomes state laws require — restricting devices during instructional time, applying policy on campus, honoring exceptions, and producing an exportable compliance report. Use the state-law lookup to see how Focus maps to your specific statute.

How does the free pilot work?

We configure your geofence, bell schedule, and policy together — usually in an afternoon — then you run Focus free at one or two schools for 60–90 days. At the end you decide with real compliance data in hand. No commitment and no hardware to buy.

Still have a question?

Ask it during a free pilot setup — or email hello@ockhamlogic.com.

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