Overview
You can use Swif’s geofencing to automatically trigger security actions when devices enter or leave sensitive locations.
This article explains how to configure automated actions for geofences on macOS, Windows, Linux, and Android devices.
Supported automated actions (current):
Notification
Lock device
Policy assignment
What are geofence automated actions?
Automated actions are post-actions that run when a geofence rule is triggered (for example, when a device enters a restricted area).
For each geofence, you can currently:
Send notifications (via Swif events, Slack, and email)
Lock devices when they enter or leave a geofenced area
Assign policies to devices when they enter or leave a geofenced area (for example, turn on location tracking or turn off the work camera)
Actions are evaluated per geofence and apply to the devices or device groups you target in the geofence rule.
Before you start
Make sure you’ve already:
Created or identified the areas you want to geofence (country/city and/or custom-radius locations).
Selected at least one device or device group to target in the geofence rule.
If a geofence doesn’t target any devices or device groups, you won’t be able to configure automated actions. The UI will show a message like:
“Add at least one device or device group to configure automated actions.”
For Android devices: The user must be signed in to the Swif Android agent app and must allow background location access. Until the user signs in, the device doesn't report its location, so geofence actions won't run for it.
Step 1 – Open the Automated actions step
In the Swif Admin Console, go to Device Management > Geofences and click Create Geofence.
Complete the geofence definition steps (location, devices/device groups, basic configuration).
Click Next until you reach the Automated actions step.
On this step you’ll see:
A read‑only “Geofence context” panel summarizing:
Selected locations (area/custom radius)
Target devices / device groups
This context cannot be edited here; to change it, go back to earlier steps.
An Actions list showing automated actions configured for this geofence.
Default Notification action (and removal of the old trigger)
Previously, notifications were controlled by a “Notification trigger” checkbox in the Basic configuration step. That control has been removed.
Now:
The Basic configuration step no longer shows any “Notification trigger” checkbox.
On a brand-new geofence, the Automated actions step will show one default Notification action in the list.
You can remove this default Notification action if you don’t want notifications for this geofence.
Step 2 – Add or edit an automated action
On the Automated actions step you can add, edit, or delete actions.
Open the Add / Edit Action modal
To add an action, click Add action.
To edit an existing action, click Edit on the action row in the list.
Both actions open the same Add Action modal:
When adding: the form is blank.
When editing: the form is pre-populated with the selected action’s current values.
When you edit an action (for example, change its trigger event or policy), your other actions stay as they are.
Supported action types and limits
In the Add Action modal, the Action type dropdown currently supports:
Notification
Lock device
Policy assignment
There are two important limits:
Only one Notification action per geofence
You can have at most one Notification action.
If a Notification action already exists:
The Notification type may be disabled in the dropdown, or
You’ll see a validation error if you try to save another Notification.
When editing a Lock action, you can only change it to Notification if there is no other Notification action already configured.
Maximum two actions total (Notification + Lock or Policy assignment)
Once you have one Notification and one Lock device action:
The Add action button is disabled or hidden.
A tooltip or message will indicate that no more actions can be added.
If you delete one of the actions, Add action becomes available again.
Step 3 – Configure a Notification action
When you choose Notification as the action type:
Select a Trigger Event:
On Entry
On Exit
On Entry & Exit
Only Notification actions support On Entry & Exit.
Configure delivery channels (per your environment and UI), such as:
Swif event feed
Slack channels (e.g., security-ops channel)
Email recipients (e.g., security@yourcompany.com, on‑call engineers)
Save the action.
After saving, you’ll see a Notification row in the Actions list summarizing:
Action type (Notification)
Trigger event
Delivery channels (as per design)
Step 4 – Configure a Lock device action
When you choose Lock device as the action type:
Select a Trigger Event: On Entry or On Exit. Lock device actions can only use one trigger.
Save the action.
After saving, you’ll see a Lock device row in the Actions list summarizing:
Action type (Lock device)
Trigger event
Key lock‑specific details (for example, lock message)
Step 5 – Configure a Policy assignment action
When you choose Policy assignment as the action type:
Select a Trigger Event: On Entry or On Exit. Like Lock device, policy assignment supports only one trigger per action.
Open Select Policy and choose the policy to apply. The list only shows policies that work on the targeted devices. For Android, these include:
Android Tracking Policy: reports the device's location at the interval you set in the policy (for example, every 5 minutes)
Android Camera Policy: turns off the camera for work apps
Android Device Policy: turns off the microphone and audio recording
Save the action.
After you save, the Actions list shows the action type, the platform tag (for example, Android), the trigger event, and the policy name.
How it works on the device
On entry: The policy is applied as soon as Swif detects the device inside the geofence, without waiting for the regular policy check.
On exit: Swif removes the policy or restores the device's normal settings. For tracking, the device goes back to its default reporting interval.
Fast back-and-forth movement: If a device crosses the boundary several times in a short period, Swif groups those crossings together so the policy doesn't keep switching on and off. Each actual entry and exit is still recorded in the event log with the device, policy and time.
Step 6 – Delete an automated action
To delete an action from the geofence:
On the Automated actions step, hover over the action row.
Click Delete.
Confirm in the dialog.
The confirmation pattern matches other geofence delete confirmations. After confirmation, the action is removed from the list.
Step 6 – Review automated actions before saving
When you proceed to the Review step in the Create Geofence wizard:
A dedicated Automated actions section appears.
It lists each configured action with:
Action type (Notification, Lock device, Policy assignment)
Trigger event
Key details (delivery channels, lock message, etc.)
This section is read-only; to change anything, go back to the Automated actions step.
This ensures the geofence definition and automated actions are consistent before saving.
Viewing automated actions for an existing geofence
Once a geofence is saved, you can see its automated actions in the View Geofence side panel.
Open the View Geofence side panel for a specific geofence.
In the details panel, locate the Automated actions summary section.
You’ll see, for each action:
Action type (Notification, Lock device, Policy name)
Trigger event (On Entry, On Exit, or On Entry & Exit for Notification)
Target details where applicable (e.g., which devices/device groups are in scope)
The View panel is view‑only:
You cannot add, edit, or delete actions from this panel.
To change actions, edit the geofence via the Create/Edit flow and update the Automated actions step.
Platform support
This feature applies to:
macOS
Windows
Linux
Android
Functionality and UI are aligned across these platforms where supported by your MDM and Swif integration.
Troubleshooting
I don’t see the Automated actions step
Make sure you’ve completed the earlier geofence steps (location and targets).
Confirm your workspace has geofencing enabled.
I can’t add new actions
Check if:
A Notification action already exists, and
A Lock device action already exists.
If both exist, the Add action button will be disabled until you delete one.
I can’t choose “On Entry & Exit”
This combined trigger is only available for Notification actions.
Lock device supports only a single trigger (On Entry or On Exit).
An Android device isn't triggering geofence actions
Make sure the user is signed in to the Swif Android agent app.
Make sure background location access is turned on for the app.
I don't see the policy I want in the Select Policy list
The list only shows policies that work on the targeted devices. Policies for other platforms are hidden.
I can't choose "On Entry & Exit" for a policy
Like Lock device, Policy assignment supports only one trigger (On Entry or On Exit).