How to secure personal, contractor and other unmanaged devices in 2026: What each BYOD security solution asks of the device owner, and where it falls short.
How to secure personal, contractor and other unmanaged devices in 2026: What each BYOD security solution asks of the device owner, and where it falls short.
Every organization has unmanaged devices touching corporate data, whether it has a bring your own device (BYOD) policy or not: contractors and agency staff working across several clients from one device, new hires waiting for equipment, and staff at a newly acquired company who are still on their old employer's equipment.
Unmanaged devices are also where a lot of breaches start. In the 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), 46% of systems with corporate logins in infostealer logs were non-managed devices. Browser sync is often how that turns into a corporate compromise: when someone is signed in to the same browser profile on their work and personal devices, their saved work passwords sync to both, and an infostealer on either device hands access to an attacker. (It helps the attacker if they can circumvent EDR by getting in through a personal device not running enterprise security software.)
The best BYOD and unmanaged device security solutions in 2026 are Push Security, Island, Prisma Browser, Chrome Enterprise Premium, Venn, Microsoft Intune with Entra Conditional Access, Zscaler, Citrix DaaS, 1Password Device Trust and Cisco ISE. We've ranked each on how well it protects corporate accounts and data on a device you don't control, how much it asks of the person who owns that device, and how much of their work it covers.
Why browser security is the best option for BYOD
Most legacy BYOD security tools were built to control a device or a network. On personal and contractor laptops, the work happens in web and cloud apps, so the browser is where security can reach without taking over someone's device. The common objections to the alternatives:
Mobile device management (MDM): few people will give IT control of their own laptop, and contractors' devices are often managed by another employer already.
Mobile application management (MAM): only covers the apps that support it, such as Edge on Windows.
Virtual desktops (VDI): costly and slow for work in cloud apps, and a phishing page inside the session still works.
Local enclaves and device posture checks: both need an agent on someone else's device, and a "healthy" device posture isn't the same as threat protection.
Clientless access and proxies: only cover the apps routed through them, and isolation doesn't stop malware-free attacks like phishing.
Network access control: only applies when the device is on the office network.
Replacement enterprise browsers: users have to switch to a new browser and change how they work.
But an enterprise browser doesn't have to mean a new browser. Gartner defines the category as delivered through a centrally managed browser extension, with a full custom browser as optional, and an enterprise browser extension secures the session in the browsers people already use, without changing how they work.
Quick picks
# | Solution | Approach | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Push Security | Enterprise browser extension | Best overall |
2 | Island | Replacement enterprise browser | Tightly restricted contractor workspaces |
3 | Prisma Browser | Replacement enterprise browser | Palo Alto Networks customers |
4 | Chrome Enterprise Premium | Managed browser profile | Chrome-standard organizations and Chromebooks |
5 | Venn | Local secure enclave | Desktop apps on personal laptops |
6 | Microsoft Intune and Entra Conditional Access | MDM, MAM and session controls | Microsoft 365 organizations |
7 | Zscaler | Clientless access and browser isolation | Existing Zscaler customers |
8 | Citrix DaaS | Virtual desktops | Thick-client and legacy apps |
9 | 1Password Device Trust | Device posture checks | Keeping unknown devices out |
10 | Cisco ISE | Network access control | Personal devices in the office |
The 10 best BYOD and unmanaged device security solutions in 2026
1. Push Security – Enterprise browser extension
Best for: protecting users and data on any unmanaged device, without changing browsers or enrolling the laptop.
Push is a browser extension that users on personal and contractor machines self-enroll without MDM, bringing BYOD browser security to devices you don't manage. It runs in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Brave, Opera and Arc, inside Island and Prisma Browser, and on Chromebooks. Installed in a work profile, it governs work activity and leaves personal browsing/profiles out of scope.
Push keeps BYOD users safe from threats as they work online, detecting attacks like adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) phishing, device code phishing, ClickFix and stolen sessions through real-time behavioral threat detection and blocking. It also checks logins against compromised credentials, blocks personal accounts on work apps, inventories browser extensions and blocks malicious or unapproved ones, and controls uploads, downloads, clipboard activity and AI tool use. A Push-protected browser can be made a condition of access in your identity provider. Pricing is published at $5 per user per month, with volume discounts for larger organizations.
On a personal device: Users add the Push extension to the browser they already use. Nothing else is installed, and removing the extension removes the controls.
Trade-offs: Push secures the browser, not the device. It doesn't check device posture, control private or desktop app access, or block screenshots.
2. Island – Replacement enterprise browser
Best for: locking down contractor workspaces with last-mile data controls.
Contractors and employees install the Island browser on their own device with "no agents, MDM software, or device imaging required," and the identity provider makes corporate apps reachable only through it. Island has the broadest workspace controls in the category, including screenshot blocking, watermarking, redaction and private app access.
On a personal device: Users install a whole new browser and have to do all their work in it.
Trade-offs: Island's phishing guidance leans on URL and domain policy plus isolation, which catches known bad sites but not new phishing pages that don't have a bad reputation yet. It's also one of the most expensive options here: its AWS Marketplace listing starts at $250,000 a year, with per-user licensing on top, which puts a 500-person company at around $350,000 a year at list price, against $30,000 for Push. See our enterprise browser comparison.
3. Prisma Browser – Replacement enterprise browser
Best for: Palo Alto Networks customers who want one policy engine from network to browser.
Prisma Browser brings Palo Alto's WildFire sandboxing, phishing page scanning and data loss prevention (DLP) with more than 1,000 classifiers into the browser, managed alongside Prisma Access.
On a personal device: Users install Prisma Browser from an email link, without admin rights, and have to do their work in it. Palo Alto says its lighter extension is "not recommended for unmanaged devices."
Trade-offs: Even if you buy it on its own, it has to be managed from Palo Alto's Strata Cloud Manager console and send its logs to Palo Alto's logging service, so it makes most sense if you already use Palo Alto's platform.
4. Chrome Enterprise Premium – Managed browser profile
Best for: Chrome-standard organizations and Chromebook fleets.
At $6 per user per month, Chrome Enterprise Premium applies copy and paste restrictions, screenshot blocking and context-aware access inside a managed work profile on a personal device.
On a personal device: Nothing extra to install, but users have to sign in to a managed Chrome work profile and do their work in Chrome.
Trade-offs: It only covers Chrome's work profile, so the same app opened in another browser or a personal profile is outside its controls. Threat protection is built on Google Safe Browsing, which checks URLs against lists of known dangerous sites, and isn't deep enough to keep users safe from anything beyond basic threats. Push runs inside Chrome, so the two can work together, with Push adding deeper threat protection and visibility into apps and identity access.
5. Venn – Local secure enclave
Best for: BYOD users who need installed desktop apps as well as cloud apps.
Venn's agent creates an encrypted work enclave on a personal PC or Mac, where work apps run locally with DLP controls and remote wipe. It covers desktop apps like Office and Zoom, which browser tools don't, and Gartner lists it as a sample vendor for Unmanaged Device Access.
On a personal device: Users install Venn's agent, which adds an encrypted virtual disk and routes work traffic through Venn's gateway. It's lighter than MDM, but it's still privileged software on someone else's computer, and it runs only on Windows and macOS.
Trade-offs: The enclave is built to stop data leaving, not to stop attacks coming in. A browser inside it is still an ordinary browser, so users are as exposed to threats online there as anywhere else.
6. Microsoft Intune and Entra Conditional Access – MDM, MAM and session controls
Best for: Microsoft 365 organizations.
Microsoft offers three options: enroll the device in Intune MDM, apply app protection policies to Edge on personal Windows devices, or route sessions through Defender for Cloud Apps to block downloads from single sign-on (SSO) apps. Intune Plan 1 is included in Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, or $8 per user per month.
On a personal device: It depends on the option. MDM enrolls the whole device and lets IT wipe it, which is the hardest thing on this list to get employees to accept. MAM only needs users to sign in to Edge with their work account, and Defender for Cloud Apps needs nothing at all.
Trade-offs: Because employees push back on MDM, most organizations end up using MAM or the proxy for BYOD. That means giving up "require compliant device," one of the strongest Conditional Access controls, because only enrolled devices can pass it. MAM works by blocking other browsers from Microsoft 365, which forces people into Edge, and it only covers apps that sign in through Microsoft Entra. The proxy only covers apps that sign in through your identity provider, so unsanctioned apps are outside it.
7. Zscaler – Clientless access and browser isolation
Best for: Zscaler customers giving contractors and partners app access.
Zscaler gives third parties "agentless access… from the browser they already use," with isolation controls over uploads, downloads, printing and copy and paste.
On a personal device: Nothing to install. Users reach apps through their normal browser via Zscaler's cloud.
Trade-offs: It only covers the apps you route through Zscaler, so unsanctioned apps, personal accounts and the rest of the web are outside it. Isolation keeps malicious code off the laptop, but does little against attacks that trick the user into handing over access (see Push vs. remote browser isolation). Private app access, isolation and data protection for unmanaged devices are each licensed separately, so it can also get expensive.
8. Citrix DaaS – Virtual desktops
Best for: thick-client and legacy apps that can't run on the device.
Citrix DaaS (desktop as a service) streams apps and desktops so corporate data never reaches the personal device. Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop and Amazon WorkSpaces work the same way.
On a personal device: Users install the Citrix Workspace app or connect through a browser, then work inside a remote desktop. The install is easy; getting people to work in a slower virtual desktop is the hard part.
Trade-offs: It's a complex, costly way to secure work that happens mostly in cloud apps, and users notice the latency. It also protects the data more than the user: a phishing page opened in the virtual desktop's browser still harvests credentials.
9. 1Password Device Trust – Device posture checks
Best for: keeping unknown devices out of SSO apps and nudging users to fix basic hygiene.
1Password Device Trust, formerly Kolide, blocks SSO sign-in from devices that don't have its agent or that fail its checks, such as missing operating system patches or a firewall that's switched off. That stops attackers signing in with stolen passwords from their own machines, and users are walked through fixing failed checks themselves.
On a personal device: Users install the Device Trust agent on Windows, macOS or Linux. It's a smaller ask than MDM, but it's still monitoring software on a personal computer, and anyone who won't install it is locked out.
Trade-offs: "Healthy" means well configured, not protected from threats. The checks look at settings, not at what's happening in the browser, so a phishing page on a fully patched laptop gets through, and because it isn't EDR, it won't detect malware like an infostealer either. For BYOD, it's mainly a way to control which devices can sign in, and a compliance tool.
10. Cisco ISE – Network access control
Best for: personal devices on the corporate network.
Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) onboards personal devices to the office network with a certificate and controls what they can reach, which makes it a good fit for protecting on-premises apps and file shares.
On a personal device: Users run Cisco's setup assistant to install a certificate and network profile.
Trade-offs: Network access control works at the network edge, but cloud apps don't sit behind it: they decide who gets in through the identity provider, not the network. A laptop at home or a contractor's office reaches cloud apps directly and never passes through ISE.
Learn more about Push Security
Push Security is the most powerful AI-native security tool in the browser. Think EDR, but for the browser — high-fidelity telemetry and real-time control across every session, on every device, with no browser migration required.
Security teams use Push to detect and stop advanced browser-based attacks like AiTM phishing, ClickFix, and session hijacking; gain visibility and control over AI tool usage across their workforce; harden identities by surfacing credential reuse, SSO gaps, and shadow IT; and support data loss and insider investigations with browser-layer telemetry that other tools can't see.
Book a live demo to learn more.
Frequently asked questions
What is BYOD security?
BYOD security, also called bring your own device security or BYOD cyber security, protects corporate data and accounts when people work on devices the organization doesn't own or manage. Since most of that work happens in web and cloud apps, browser security is the best way to cover it: it keeps users safe online, where most modern attacks happen, and controls where corporate data goes, without taking over the device.
What are the best security tools for unmanaged devices?
The best security tools for unmanaged devices are the ones that don't depend on managing the device, because endpoint tools and MDM need control you usually don't have on a personal or contractor laptop. Push covers the browser people already use on any unmanaged device, keeping them safe online, controlling which browser extensions they run and controlling where corporate data goes.
How do I secure BYOD devices without MDM?
Secure the browser that users work in instead of the device. An enterprise browser extension like Push protects work in web and cloud apps without enrolling the device, and you can require a Push-protected browser in your identity provider so unprotected browsers can't reach corporate apps. If some users still need installed desktop apps, a local enclave or virtual desktop also avoids MDM.
Can I use endpoint security on BYOD devices?
Usually not. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) and endpoint DLP need to be installed and managed on the device, which employees and contractors rarely allow on hardware they own. That's why BYOD endpoint security has shifted to the browser, where work happens, business apps are accessed, and most of the risk on a personal laptop sits.
How do I secure contractor and BYOD devices accessing corporate apps?
Require a protected browser in your identity provider, then secure the session itself. Push lets contractors self-enroll the browser they already use without MDM, keeps them safe from threats online, blocks personal accounts on work apps and malicious browser extensions, and controls uploads and downloads. When the contract ends, remove the extension, with no device wipe.
What browser security tools work on unmanaged devices?
Island and Prisma Browser install as separate browsers, Chrome Enterprise Premium only covers Chrome, and Intune MAM only covers Edge on Windows. Push deploys in the browser people already use, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari, without MDM or a browser switch.
What are the security risks of BYOD?
The core risk is that corporate accounts and data are accessed from a device the organization can't see or control, which may be unpatched, shared or already infected. Infostealers harvest saved passwords and session cookies from personal devices, including work passwords that reached the device through a browser profile shared with a work laptop. Users on personal devices are also more likely to use personal accounts and skip SSO.
