In the United States, police departments have warned citizens about the default setting of the latest iPhone operating system and urged them to turn it off. However, the warnings are somewhat unnecessary as the feature does not work as the authorities have implied.
The warnings of the US police authorities about the default setting of the latest operating system of Apple’s iPhone have received some column space and attention on social media.
The authorities have been concerned about the Namedrop function of the iOS 17.1 operating system, which is automatically turned on in all phones that support it.
Namedrop is intended for situations where iPhone users want to share their contact information with each other. When phones that support the feature are placed next to each other within a few centimeters of each other, users can exchange their contact cards without having to dictate numbers aloud to each other.
The Washington Post however, points out that the feature does not work exactly as the authorities have made it clear.
The story continues below the picture.
Namedrop is a function that allows iPhone users to change their contact information easily. However, it does not work exactly as the authorities in the USA have made it clear. Apple
Police warnings useless?
From the warnings of the authorities concerned about Namedrop, it was possible to get the impression that the exchange of contact information takes place automatically when the phones are close to each other, and that the other person’s contact information could be captured secretly.
However, this is not true. Although Namedrop is activated by placing the phones next to each other, exchanging contact information requires the approval of both parties. Contact cards only change if both phones are in unlocked mode, and the Namedrop request is accepted on both phones.
Among other things warning issued by the Noble County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio has been shared almost 80,000 times on Facebook alone. Information has since been added to the publication that the exchange of contact information does not happen automatically or without the user’s approval.
The warnings of the police departments have also been taken up by some media. For example CBS News had interviewed a security expert for his article, who didn’t seem to be fully informed about Namedrop himself.
– If an unknown person walks past your child and gets their contact information… We have seen how bad guys, pedophiles and others can exploit an email or phone number. God, if they decide to use the home address as well, one information security expert was horrified.
This is how you turn off the function
Human errors and the acceptance of surprising notifications by mistake are of course always possible, but the threat images painted by police departments are those of the Washington Post and Macrumors according to largely exaggerated.
Namedrop can be turned off if desired by going to Settings > General > Airdrop and turning off the setting Start sharing by bringing the devices together.
Source: The Washington Post