Apple released a new feature with the iOS 17 update recently which allows you to seamlessly transfer contact details between two iPhones. You could say this is the AirDrop version for sharing contacts which Apple called NameDrop.
And now, law enforcement agencies have sounded out about concerns with this feature, especially if people are handing out iPhones to kids in the US, which is not very uncommon.
With NameDrop you can easily exchange your contact information by simply bringing your iPhone near someone else’s iPhone or Apple Watch and this ease of sharing details has got the police worried about kids and warned their parents to be careful of the features that are available to their kids on the iPhone and they have been advised to disable NameDrop to avoid any possible mishap.
The reason for doing this is the fact that NameDrop is enabled by default for iPhone users if they have updated to the iOS 17.1 version or higher. NameDrop is compatible with Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch Series 7 and later, and Apple Watch SE (2nd generation).
The alert from police shares an alarming message, “anyone can automatically receive your contact information.” While it is good to see the law officers keeping up-to-date with these features, we’re not sure if NameDrop works as they claim it does.
NameDrop works via NFC which has been used to make contactless payments and other stuff, and like the officers have mentioned, NameDrop needs more than just automatically receiving details. For the feature to work, both the iPhones need to be in close proximity for the NFC sensor to detect the other device and share the details.
For sharing photos and other files in this manner, you need to use AirDrop on both the iPhones which requires more steps than just simply sharing details. So, in a way, we get the point of this warning and it would be safe to say that parents are advised to disable the NameDrop feature on their iPhones.
How To Disable NameDrop On iPhones
– Go to Settings of your iPhone
– Tap on General
– Scroll down to AirDrop, tap on it
– Click on Bringing Devices Together and disable NameDrop by turning off the toggle switch
Apple usually is aware about privacy of its users and no wonder it advertises iPhones for its privacy. NameDrop is an extremely useful feature for many but when it comes to kinds, there is no harm in disabling it, and in fact, Apple should probably fix the problem and keep its disabled by default with a future update.
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