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Use cases → Admin and governance

Initiate remote device wipes with domain-wide delegation

Trigger remote wipes on lost or compromised devices using a delegated service account, without direct admin console access.

Who it is forIT administrators managing device security across multiple user endpoints.
APIsAdmin SDK
Typical scopesadmin.directory.device.mobile, admin.directory.device.chromeos

The problem

Lost or compromised devices are a data breach risk, but relying on manual console actions delays response and exposes sensitive data. Delegated automation enables consistent, immediate wipes, but must be implemented with care.

How it works

  1. Monitor device compliance or incident feeds for triggers (e.g., reported lost, failed checks).
  2. Use the Admin SDK with a delegated service account to locate the affected device by ID.
  3. Send a remote wipe command to the device via the appropriate API endpoint.
  4. Log the action and track device status until the wipe is confirmed or fails.

What changes

Wipes can be triggered as soon as a device is flagged, reducing time at risk and providing a clear audit trail of actions taken.

The trap in this one. The Admin SDK's wipe commands are asynchronous and do not guarantee immediate execution. Devices may remain active for hours if they are offline or the command fails silently—there is no instant confirmation. Automations must poll device status changes and handle the case where the wipe command is accepted but never completes (e.g., device never reconnects).

Questions people ask

Can I wipe both mobile and ChromeOS devices this way?

Yes, but each device type uses a different API resource and endpoint. Ensure your automation handles both and checks for device-specific behaviours.

How do I confirm the wipe happened?

Poll the device's status field via the Admin SDK. Beware that status updates may lag and never resolve if the device is offline indefinitely.

Want this built?

This is a pattern we run in production. We will set up the delegation and build this on top of it — $500 per hour, most of it working the same day.

Talk to us Or read the setup guide

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