MILTON — Police are urging iPhone users to disable a new controversial feature they say allows users to share contact information with a tap of the phone.
Milton Police are asking iPhone users who have done the latest iOS 17 update to turn off the NameDrop feature, which is set to on by default. Police said people who use the feature are at risk of sharing their personal information.
“This feature allows sharing of your contact information just by tapping your phones together. While you do have to approve transfer of your information with this feature, children, elderly, etcetera, may not realize what they are sharing and could be vulnerable to sharing personal information,” police said in a statement Wednesday.
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Police asked parents to turn off the setting on their children’s phones and other Apple devices for safety.
The following prompts can be used to turn off NameDrop, per police: Settings > General > AirDrop > Bringing Devices Together and change to off.
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According to Apple, NameDrop can also be used on Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch Series 7 and later and Apple Watch SE (second generation).
Contact information can be shared from phone to phone, phone to watch or watch to watch, Apple said.
While local police departments have sent warnings about NameDrop, technology writers have deemed the feature safe.
Forbes Senior Contributor David Phelan said iPhone users should not be concerned with NameDrop as Apple takes pride in privacy. Phelan went on to say that both phones need to be unlocked for NameDrop to properly work, and people can choose what they want to share.
The Washington Post’s Help Desk Strategy Editor Shira Ovide downplayed any warnings about NameDrop and said they are “wildly exaggerated.”
In June, Apple announced it was taking new privacy and security measures, some of which the…
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