A hidden Work Mode tile hints at support for employer-managed apps, but no word on when it might come.
Your commute could soon come with a little more office baggage. In the Android Authority Teardown of Android Auto version 18.0.664204 has revealed a Work Mode tile, suggesting that Google may be testing new Work profile controls. The site’s team managed to bring up the tile, which lit up a suitcase icon above the app drawer, but tapping on the tile did nothing.
Supporting work profiles could make it easier to join work calls between appointments. Then it could also give the office another way to follow you into the car, which is not exactly everyone’s idea of a peaceful drive.
Why work apps are missing from Android Auto
Using an Android Work profile is not the same as signing into a second Gmail account. A work profile keeps employer-managed apps in a separate space and marks them with portfolio badges, while personal apps and data remain outside the company’s control on employees’ phones. To check if you have a work profile set up, look for separate Personal and Work tabs or apps with small suitcase icons in your app drawer. If neither appears, you probably don’t have one, but you can navigate Settings > Passwords and Accounts to double check.
Work profile restrictions are especially obvious for video conferencing apps. Microsoft says Teams will support audio calls and meetings via Android Auto, but the integration won’t work if the app is installed in a managed work profile. Google Meet has a slightly different restriction. An active work profile call may appear on the dashboard, but future meetings and call history from that profile will not appear. That’s inconvenient for someone driving between appointments who wants to attend their next car show meeting.
A missing app isn’t always a work profile problem, though. You might have hidden it from Android Auto Launcher. And if Android Auto doesn’t work at all, a connection problem could be to blame. Neither issue has anything to do with job profiles.
A job toggle could be a blessing or a headache
On the drive home, a dashboard work mode switch could finally entertain work alerts while leaving personal calls and navigation untouched. For now, if your employer has set up a work profile on your phone, you can pause work apps using the Work tab in the app drawer or, on supported devices, a work panel in Quick Settings. Pause stops work apps and their notifications without affecting personal apps.
Some Android phones with a work profile allow you to schedule work hours through Digital Wellbeing, but the Samsung version lacked this option. Here’s the interesting part: Google says the scheduler can’t pause work apps for consecutive days, such as an entire weekend. The manual switch still has its uses.
Google hasn’t said whether Android Auto’s experimental tiles will offer these controls. It was not shown to pause notifications or launch work apps. Meanwhile, the current Android Auto customization options won’t bypass the work profile restrictions.
Even when the feature arrives, drivers won’t necessarily get access to every company app. Android Auto restricts app capabilities while driving, and employers control which apps are available in work profiles. On company-owned Android devices, IT administrators can also limit how long a work profile remains paused. Exceeding this limit may suspend access to personal apps and data.