YORK, Pa. — Apple’s recent iOS update for the iPhone and Apple Watch is generating privacy concerns from law enforcement in Pennsylvania.
The new feature is called Namedrop and was released in October 2023 as part of the iOS 17.1 software update.
The feature allows two iPhone or Apple Watch users to share contacts and email addresses instantly after unlocking several device safeguards. Information is transferred through Airdrop.
“The phone has to be unlocked, airdrop has to be enabled for non-contact and the most you can allow with Apple default settings is a ten-minute increment,” explained Scott Davis, chairman of the Cyber Security Association of Pennsylvania.
Each device automatically enables the feature once updated, which has generated privacy concerns among parents.
Chief Reigle from the South Londonderry Township Police Department says he was made aware of the concerns while online.
“I had seen a post from another law enforcement agency that wasn’t even in the state, warning parents of this feature in the new update, so I checked it out on my phone and found it was in-fact enabled,” Reigle said.
In response, the department released a public service message on Facebook, encouraging parents to change the settings on their children’s devices.
“We just try to keep parents informed of things like this so it’s a little easier to stand on top of it,” Reigle told FOX43.
Airdrop by default is only enabled for Contacts Only and must be enabled for non-contacts in 10-minute increments. To use Namedrop, Airdrop must be configured for Everyone for 10 Minutes to establish the connection with a non-contact.
Davis says those parameters put in place by Apple should also be enough to keep people’s information safe.
“The fact that there are multiple steps of safeguard in place here, I would say this is a low-risk situation.”
To disable Namedrop, users can go into their settings, click General, and Airdrop. There, deselect the option to Bring Devices Together. Namedrop can be reactivated at any time by repeating the aforementioned steps.