Apple iPhone Update - Police Depts Warning

[NowISeetheLight]

Apple iPhone latest updates set a feature called "NameDrop" to default "On". Basically it allows any iPhone near you to get your contact info just by being nearby.

Police Departments are warning parents about it. Imagine some weirdo hanging out by a bus stop just harvesting kids info as they walk by.

Some publications are claiming it isn't a big deal (like Wired). To me though it seems like an invitation to identity theft or worse.
Who the hell thought this was a good idea?

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/new-iphone-feature-namedrop-is-on-by-default/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/apple-ios-17-warning-airdrop-namedrop/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h

https://www.wired.com/story/apple-iphone-namedrop-ios17/

[ananda]

1. Thank you.

I just turned it off.

[Elessar Zappa]

2. Geez.

Gotta go turn it off now.

[yardwork]

3. Thanks. I just turned it off.

It's also nagging me to set up Apple Pay, which I don't want to do. There's no way to decline, just postpone the set up, so it keeps nagging me.

[unblock]

4. According to Wired, it requires consent each time you "NameDrop" your contact info

If that's right, then I'm inclined to agree with them, it's no big deal. "Always on" apparently doesn't mean "silently consents on your behalf".

That said, I've not tested this feature yet....

[marybourg]

5. My default setting was

share with “contacts” only. So, no biggie. But everyone should check the setting, I guess. Plus, I trust Wired.

[Ninga]

17. Exactly. "With contacts only" negates random iphones

Nearby.

[edisdead]

6. You have to hold the top of the phones together.

Also my default was for contacts only.

Not really a big deal.


I think this is part of the airdrop utility and I think that defaults to contacts only.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

7. Thanks! I don't really see the benefit for me so I turned it off.

[Mad_Machine76]

8. I couldn't figure out what my work and personal phones were doing when I stacked them on top of each other one night.

[Hekate]

11. Mating

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

15. It wasn't iPhone sex?

That's how they make the next gen.

[haele]

9. Thanks, even though it seems it defaults to contacts only...

The iPhone I have is a "company/government" account and I don't need anyone being able to get in because the previous users did a lot of personal stuff - like shopping and online services - on that number.

Air-drop off.

Haele

[OldBaldy1701E]

10. Who thought it was a good idea?

The Vice-President of Finance at Apple.

[forgotmylogin]

13. Although they did try a thing called "bump" which was neat technology.

The idea was if you wanted to exchange contact info with someone, you both activated "bump" and then tapped your phones together.

It didn't need to broadcast the data because the phones both detected the simultaneous jolt each accelerometer received from the bump to verify the two phones that were exchanging info.

I do like that when I go to my friend's house it will detect that I can connect with the TV and offer that, but it shouldn't offer information randomly to other people. I'm glad it requires confirmation, but I know I've hastily pulled up my phone to check something and cleared whatever confirmation was in the way without thinking.

[Cha]

12. What? I don't see it on my iphone 11.

What's the icon.. TY!

I did see something on how to disable it in Settings.

[Warpy]

14. Just who the fuck thought THAT was a good idea?

It's not just the creepers, it's the spammers and scammers.

I don't know what the management was smoking when they approved that one but I'd love to avoid it.

Android phones might not be as spiffy, but Jeez Louise, avoiding Apple's "helpfulness" is worth having a clunky phone.

[Auggie]

16. I remember Android-like phones having that feature long before Apple ...

they (Google?) promoted the heck out of it -- without much user acceptance.

[marybourg]

18. The person already has to be one of your "contacts" before the air drop

comes into play. Cops misunderstood. Wired was correct.

[iluvtennis]

19. Thanks for this post. @Apple, it was a dumb idea to turn this feature on by default. n/t

[Initech]

20. Another reason I'm glad that I have Samsung!

[Kablooie]

21. The phone notifies you and you have to agree to share your info.

It's annoying that it is turned on by default but no one can get your info without you agreeing to it.

[brooklynite]

22. Before everyone panics

Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how functions.

been warnings about NameDrop popping up on FaceTime. Police departments in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Ohio, and other states have been suggesting that contact information can be shared "just by bringing your phones close together." From the City of Chester Police Department in Ohio:

https://www.macrumors.com/2023/11/27/ios-17-namedrop-misinformation/

This is fundamentally no different than beaming your contact information to someone with your Palm Pilot, which goes back about 15 years.

[LudwigPastorius]

23. The two phones have to be in physical contact, then...

Last edited Mon Nov 27, 2023, 11:28 PM - Edit history (1)

your phone will NOT share your contact information unless you tell it to.

Nobody can just stand on a street corner and harvest the information of passers-by.

As is typical, the cops are either lying or are too stupid to figure out how it works.

[usonian]

24. Police Departments and News Sites Spreading Misinformation About How iOS 17 NameDrop Feature Works

https://www.macrumors.com/2023/11/27/ios-17-namedrop-misinformation/

NameDrop works when two iPhones running iOS 17.1 or an iPhone with iOS 17.1 and an Apple Watch running watchOS 10.1 are placed right next to each other, as in almost touching. When the two devices come in close contact and both are unlocked, there is a pop up prompting users to share contact information or an image.

Contact information is not shared automatically, and it is a user-initiated process that requires both people exchanging information to accept the transfer. While an accidental exchange could occur, it would require a user to unlock their device and accept the sharing prompt for that to occur.

...

After criticism from some commenters, Noble County edited its message to clarify that there's a popup to transfer content, and Dewey County said that it was attempting to "get parents engaged with their children," but many people who saw the original post may not see the updates.

It's "for the children" .... and as usual, IT EFFING ISN'T.

[ancianita]

25. Thanks for the links info, but no worries! Now please. Just read the Wired link. The police "news" isn't really true.

Your Wired link shows how to turn all that off, which is what I just did.

turn off the NameDrop feature for your iPhone?
Start by opening your Settings, then
tap General and AirDrop.
Go to the section labeled Start Sharing By and toggle Bringing Devices Together to the left.
On this page, you can also change the settings for who can AirDrop information to your phone...

Even though you shouldn’t worry very much about the NameDrop feature on your iPhone, it’s important to be aware of how your smartphone can leak personal data. A good place to start is by checking to see whether you’re sharing location data in a way you don’t actually intend to. Another basic step to keep your iPhone secure is to update the software as soon as the new option becomes available, so Apple can patch potential exploits.

Calm down. Apple's gonna be okay. If you want to privacy proof your phone, you can do all that in Settings.
Go methodically through the stuff that you want 'on' or 'off.' Think about if you've ever used it. If not, turn 'off.'
If you don't want Siri -- and you shouldn't, not for one damn thing -- go through every Siri related connection and shut it all off.
Go through all your apps and turn off those you don't use. Even delete some from your home page that you've never used and likely won't.

The big thing to keep you from being manipulated is to turn off Notifications for anything but a phone call or text -- even then, just use sound so you can turn your ringer on or off.
Apple is better at privacy proofing than any Android.

It's Zuckerberg using AI to leak facial recog and other FB stuff that folks should keep an eye on -- he's got a 2 billion human market out there, only one AI lab researcher, a sort-of AI lab, but really, no research, just AI use for profit. Zuck wants his AI to identify faces in photos, recognize spoken commands & translate between languages, and so, bots would patrol Facebook digital world take instructions like China's WeApp does: want an airline reservation? ask a bot. Order flowers? a bot will do it. But none of this will be in the open and transparent world of other AI uses, just in Zuck's corporate profit moat. Remember what he did with Cambridge Analytica and how he let other real world shit happen. He's been in front of Congress a couple of times, and he'll have to be back in 2024 if he's nailed for anything happening because of Facebook.

[captain queeg]

27. Thanks for the info.

[KatK]

26. Whoa! Thanks! Turned off, thank goodness! n/t

[Celerity]

29. Please read the Wired article. The coppers were wrong and doing their usual dodgy fear inducement hype bollocks

[MistakenLamb]

28. Bought a new phone last week and it carried over all my old settings even after last iOS update

"Contacts only"