iOS 17 launched with a handful of bugs the company is working to fix in upcoming updates. Despite housing various issues, iOS 17 is considered a significant upgrade over iOS 16, considering its features. One of the notable additions in iOS 17 is the new NameDrop feature, an extension of AirDrop. It works on the iPhone and the Apple Watch, allowing users to share pictures and contact information quickly. Some news organizations and police departments are spreading false information about how the NameDrop contact information works.

Police department sharing false information regarding NameDrop feature in iOS 17

Apple launched the NameDrop feature with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1, allowing iPhone and Apple Watch users to share their contact information with friends and family quickly. The process is pretty simple and, most importantly, secure. The feature considers user consent before sharing their contact information and does not come into action automatically. According to The Washington Post, police departments and news outlets share warnings against the NameDrop feature.

Police departments from Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and additional states state that the new contact feature in iOS 17 can share contact information by simply bringing the two devices together. While the feature is misinterpreted, the information sharing is not as simple as it looks. The City of Chester Police Department says:

IMPORTANT PRIVACY UPDATE: If you have an iPhone and have done the recent iOS 17 update, they have set a new feature called NameDrop defaulted to ON. This feature allows the sharing of your contact info just by bringing your phones close together. To shut this off go to Settings, General, AirDrop, Bringing Devices Together. Change to OFF.

Yes, the NameDrop feature in iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 is enabled by default, but the process is not straightforward and considers various security steps. For instance, the two devices must be close to each other to trigger the NameDrop prompt. Furthermore, both parties should unlock their devices to make the information transfer possible via NameDrop. Additionally, both parties are required to accept the transfer of contact information. If one of the users declines, the information is not shared, and the entire process is closed. The feature is designed in a way that considers both parties.

Various police departments shared the warnings which were posted on social media platforms. Other than this, local news stories have shared the information without confirming. For instance, KDKA-TV shared interviews with information suggesting iOS 17.1's NameDrop is an automatic feature.

"That is a little bit concerning, I think it should be an optional feature instead of automatically happening.".

Apple has not commented on the matter yet, but we suspect the company will turn off the feature by default. To clarify, NameDrop is safe as it takes consent from both users before sharing contact information. We will keep you guys updated on the latest, so be sure to stick around.