Once applying group policies to the work environment I wondered if it is possible to apply the same policies on mac. Searching for a while concluded it is not possible to apply group policy even after have mac devices bound with Active Directory. After some more searching, I came across MDM (Mobile Device Management), here you can apply different policies to apply control over mac devices.
The main component was behind applying policies on a mac is profiles, also called configuration profiles. MDM basically uses installed agent or management profiles to deploy this configuration profiles.
Different MDM has there own way of creating profiles, but the basic variables remain the same. Here is an example of valid variables – Link
There are so many things that you can do with profiles. Block application installation, block a user from accessing settings, manage password policy and even manage physical buttons.
These are the solutions that can be benefited for mass deployment. If you are in need to apply group policies for mac, you can make one by following ways :
- Using Apple configurator – https://support.apple.com/en-ca/apple-configurator
- Using open-source projects like Profile Creator – https://github.com/ProfileCreator/ProfileCreator
Apple configurator is an official tool for the creation of configuration profiles for apple mobile devices. My personal experience using Apple Configurator was not that great. Its main uses are to create profiles for devices like iPhones and iPads. There are some sections that can be useful if you are applying these policies on mac devices. It is available free of cost on the app store. I would say it is not that agile about functionalists.
While being fed up from Apple configurator I started searching from different options, and fortunately found one called “Profile Creator”. It is a completely open-source project available on Github to explore. Supports the creation of profiles for all kinds of devices, with different policies for all kinds of functionality. All possible option is given to support the profile creation. The only thing that was lacking was the guided path for creation. If you are a little new to macOS management there are chances of getting lost in much of functionalities.