HACKER Q&A
📣 misterbowfinger

Accessing personal email on FAANG work computer?


I have a side startup that, occasionally, gets some email to my personal email. I'd like to also check my personal email on my work laptop, but would my IP for my startup get rolled into FAANG if I check my personal email? I'd only read my email, not send any email (i.e. conduct business)

  👤 rachelbythebay Accepted Answer ✓
Don't do that. Have a personal phone and a work phone if you must, but don't cross the streams.

You like owning your output, right? Don't risk it.

👤 ThrowawayR2
Read your employee handbook and IT regulations thoroughly; personal use of company equipment is almost always forbidden and doing so for profit doubly so. Whether looking at emails from your startup counts as the former or latter is subject to interpretation by HR and the legal department.

In practice, many (most?) people do check personal email and more on company equipment and nobody much cares ... unless, one day, the company has a reason to want to know what you've been doing (for example, because you had a side startup you haven't cleared with them first (check you employee handbook) or your manager randomly decides he doesn't like your face anymore) and then the rules apply full force and it's game over.