Panic over police warning about new iPhone feature; Read to know more

Police in the United States have spread panic among the iPhone users by firing dozens of privacy warnings about a new feature that was added to the Apple update recently. Apple has introduced NameDrop, which allows the users to share their personal information to anyone with consent by bringing their devices close in the vicinityThe US Police, however, issued warnings about the possible ‘privacy’ concern from the NameDrop feature that was introduced on the iOS 17. Several law enforcement authorities shared the advisories on the social media sites including the Facebook warning the Apple users about NameDrop that would exchange the personal details including the contact number between the iPhone and Apple Watch users simply by holding their devices close.

While the law enforcement warned against the theft of their details, the tech giant Apple in its update said that there are a number of protections in the feature that ensures that the user data is not stolen. Apple argued that there are number of safeguards to protect against sharing user information with strangers. US’ Oakland County Sheriff’s Department outside Detroit asked the users to deactivate this feature. The sheriff’s office in Tennessee warned people to “BEWARE” of NameDrop. They said that the feature allows to share contacts “just by bringing your phones close together.” Meanwhile police in Watertown, Connecticut has warned that “anyone” can obtain contact information from another phone through NameDrop and asked the users to be careful.

How to disable the NameDrop feature?

The new feature is activated as default setting on devices running iOS 17.1 or watchOS 10.1. It operates much similar to AirDrop feature that shares the files wirelessly back and forth between two devices. When a user holds their device close to another device, a message that reads ‘a few centimeters’ appears on the screen which the user has to confirm before sharing the details. They can either send the contact card or receive it from the other phone.

The US police warns that the feature could allow anyone to technically obtain contact information through NameDrop including the strangers and poses threat of sharing the children's numbers. Apple update says that the user can choose to disable NameDrop by going to the device's settings. One can select the option AirDrop, then switch off the option called "Bringing Devices Together” and restrict the access.

Police departments says that the feature is “not a public safety concern” but some like the Chesterfield, Mo. Police Department, said that it basically concerned with the safety of children who “may not exercise the same degree of care and caution that an adult would.” The feature an be exploited by cyber bullying, cyber attacks and cyber predators, they argue.