General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsApple iPhone Update - Police Depts Warning
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/
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ananda
(29,339 posts)I just turned it off.
Elessar Zappa
(14,859 posts)Gotta go turn it off now.
yardwork
(62,578 posts)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
(53,323 posts)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
(12,803 posts)share with contacts only. So, no biggie. But everyone should check the setting, I guess. Plus, I trust Wired.
Ninga
(8,437 posts)Nearby.
edisdead
(2,804 posts)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
(10,458 posts)Mad_Machine76
(24,661 posts)Hekate
(92,596 posts)ArkansasDemocrat1
(1,836 posts)That's how they make the next gen.
haele
(12,939 posts)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
(5,488 posts)The Vice-President of Finance at Apple.
forgotmylogin
(7,604 posts)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
(300,938 posts)What's the icon.. TY!
I did see something on how to disable it in Settings.
Warpy
(112,248 posts)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
(31,432 posts)they (Google?) promoted the heck out of it -- without much user acceptance.
marybourg
(12,803 posts)comes into play. Cops misunderstood. Wired was correct.
iluvtennis
(20,232 posts)Initech
(100,656 posts)![](/emoticons/yoiks.gif)
Kablooie
(18,695 posts)It's annoying that it is turned on by default but no one can get your info without you agreeing to it.
brooklynite
(96,820 posts)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
(9,849 posts)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
(11,367 posts)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
(37,221 posts)Your Wired link shows how to turn all that off, which is what I just did.
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 shouldnt worry very much about the NameDrop feature on your iPhone, its important to be aware of how your smartphone can leak personal data. A good place to start is by checking to see whether youre sharing location data in a way you dont 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
(11,117 posts)KatK
(188 posts)Celerity
(45,480 posts)MistakenLamb
(657 posts)"Contacts only"