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Is NameDrop really a privacy threat? The truth revealed

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Over the weekend, law enforcement agencies around the country started posting security warnings about a new iPhone feature called NameDrop, and how it could potentially share your contact information just by bringing two iPhones close together.

The posts encouraged users to turn the feautre off to protect their privacy, insinuating that a stranger could collect your data just by getting near your phone.

Turns out, it’s just not true.

In my extensive testing of the feature, I figured out exactly how it works. Read on to understand it and determine if you want to turn it off.

Follow Tech Reporter Rich DeMuro on Instagram for more tech news, tips and reviews.

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I was there as Apple announced the feature to much fanfare at it’s annual Worldwide Developer’s Conferce in June 2023.

“This year we’re expanding how you can use AirDrop to share in all new ways starting with how you swap your number with someone new,” started Apple executive and engineer Craig Federighi.

“With NameDrop, you can just bring your phones close together. You’ll see the same contact poster we talked about for phone calls, and you can easily choose the phone numbers and email addresses you want to share along with it,” he continued.

NameDrop is new in iOS 17 and it’s an extension of Apple’s longtime AirDrop feature. It is turned on by default.

But, will it really automatically swap your contact info with strangers?

“The reeality is, the risk just isn’t there that’s been highlighted in a lot of these articles,” said Steve Tcherchian, a security expert with XYPRO Technology.

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For starters, both iPhones need their screens to be active. They don’t necessarily need to be unlocked for the feature to trigger, but you can’t proceed with sharing info unless you unlock them.

In my testing, placing two iPhones side by side won’t activate the feature. Two iPhones placed face to face, back to back and top to top will.

You’ll see an animation and feel a vibration when the feature is triggered.

The most important part of the process is that information is never shared automatically. Not only is there a confirmation screen, but you can choose the phone number or email you want to share with the other user. Finally, you must press “Recieve Only” or “Share” to send or recieve contact info.

“You can’t just drive by a phone or walk by a phone, tap your phone on somebody’s pocket and steal under information. It just doesn’t work that way,” said Tcherchian.

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Now that you know how it works, if you want to toggle the feature off, you can find the toggle in Settings > General > AirDrop under “bringing devices together.”

“Having this on is perfectly fine. Apple always takes care of security as a primary concern, and they make things easy as well as secure at the same time, concluded Tcherchian.

Apple states on their privacy page that “NameDrop was designed to share contact information with only intended recipients and users can choose the specific contact information they want to share — and just as important, which information they do not want to share.”

One thing to keep in mind if you do turn off NameDrop: you’ll also disable a related AirDrop feature that lets you tap two iPhones together to easiy share photos and videos. However, you will still be able to use AirDrop the way many of us are used to, which is from the Share menu.

One more thing to know: if you want to cancel NameDrop at any time, you can just swipe from the bottom of your display, lock your device or just move it away from the other phone if the connection hasn’t been established.

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