Police Departments and News Sites Spreading Misinformation About How iOS 17 NameDrop Feature Works

[fatTribble]

Our local news was all over this story as I yelled at the television like Archie Bunker.
Both channels I saw neglected to say what the actual problem was. They just said there were privacy concerns. They said nothing about having to confirm the sharing.

They also didn’t mention that even before mobile devices it was possible to lift someone’s wallet and gain access to all of their driver’s license and credit card info. You don’t even need a password!
Run for the hills! How will society survive this?!

🤮

 

[killhippie]

The Apple collective changes its mind so often, so many times when there were bugs people wanted to be able to opt in, now opt out is just fine, unless it's going to actually affect you then its back to 'should be opt in really' Why do people go though iPhones to disable stuff they don't need in location services? Because of battery life and privacy. So I think opt in to what you need is better and is what people used to ask for years back all the time, its my phone I'll opt in to what I want not opt out of what Apple wants me to use.

Its like hunting out the settings to opt out of 'Privacy Preserving Ad measurement' which allows your data to be shared among sites, so that they can measure how well their advertising is doing or 'location-based ads, plus many more. Yep opt into what I need sounds great, not opting out after any potential damage is done. Even though this was fake news at least people are thinking and don't trust big companies, even Apple want your data at some point.

 

[coachgq]

What *is* a stupid default is that sharing your iCloud contact and photo via iMessage, is turned on since a few iOS's ago... so any random tradesperson, delivery driver, etc that you reply to can get that... that's worse IMHO, tell your friends to disable it. ("Share name and Photo" in Messages settings)

I have mine set to contacts only. Am I doing it wrong?

 

[Rafagon]

Not sure that your Contact card is the best place to be storing your Social Security Number. Does it have a dedicated field for that, or did you just choose to use it that way? Think of a Contact card as a business card. You wouldn't write your SSN on your business cards, would you? But in the same token, I guess you wouldn't put your birthdate on your business card either.

Does the US issue physical cards for SSNs? You can use Wallet to store any arbitrary card. Maybe that's a safer place?

How do you use Wallet to store "any arbitrary card"? I only see a way to add the options that are allowed.

 

[I7guy]

[…]”.


The cops and all that, yes I see the argument there, but I find it refreshing that people don’t automatically trust big tech implicitly.

Also that the cops should always be trusted implicitly.

 

[jweinraub]

I have two phones and stack them on my desk. It was annoying af getting the warning. But seeing the FUD circulate through social and mainstream media is rather hilarious!

 

[crees!]

If anything, NameDrop has the potential to be more irritating than dangerous

Totally irritating as I have my work and personal phone with me all the time and when I hold them both in the same hand they always go off, multiple times a day.

Just switched this off. Thanks for that tidbit.

 

[FindingAvalon]

Low rent journalists and idiot cops. What a combination. 🤦‍♂️🙄

 

[I7guy]

This is a feature in search of a problem, one of many Apple has produced lately while neglecting annoying bugs in other parts of macOS. Neat, great to showcase at WWDC, but mostly useless.

It’s an elegant solution to how to exchange contact info between two consenting people.

 

[TracerAnalog]

Not sure that your Contact card is the best place to be storing your Social Security Number. Does it have a dedicated field for that, or did you just choose to use it that way? Think of a Contact card as a business card. You wouldn't write your SSN on your business cards, would you? But in the same token, I guess you wouldn't put your birthdate on your business card either.

Does the US issue physical cards for SSNs? You can use Wallet to store any arbitrary card. Maybe that's a safer place?

Not the best place? Are you kidding me? Any information you put in there can be freely read by any social media app that you use like Facebook, WhatsApp etc. It is the MOST stupid way to store your sensitive information!!

 

[MilaM]

It’s an elegant solution to how to exchange contact info between two consenting people.

In theory it's elegant. But in reality, it has too many gotachas. Both have to have an iPhone. Both have to have Contact Posters set up. Possibly iCloud needs to be singned in, not sure about that though. So the likelyhood of it working when you need it is pretty low I would say.

 

[alexandr]

In theory it's elegant. But in reality, it has too many gotachas. Both have to have an iPhone. Both have to have Contact Posters set up. Possibly iCloud needs to be singned in, not sure about that though. So the likelyhood of it working when you need it is pretty low I would say.

When did airdrop ever work with non iPhones?! Also, do both have to have contact posters set up?..

 

[Smith288]

I guess it could be worse by them spreading information that makes people less safe. So look at the silver lining.

 

[OneBar]

So sad that what’s supposed to be a trusted source is .. well … not.

They never have been.

 

[OneBar]

In theory it's elegant. But in reality, it has too many gotachas. Both have to have an iPhone. Both have to have Contact Posters set up. Possibly iCloud needs to be singned in, not sure about that though. So the likelyhood of it working when you need it is pretty low I would say.

It can be done watch to phone as well but the procedure is the same and requires a long pause before it connects and confirmation on both devices. It's beautifully clunky such that you cannot accidentally or maliciously do it.

 

[OneBar]

I've two iPhones – one personal, one provided by my employer.

Obviously, I often hold them in the same hand when going somewhere. And they start to do name drop. Animations, sound effects, screens showing my contact photo and a confirmation request. Utterly, utterly dumb.

The two phones use two different iCloud accounts because, obviously, I don't want my employer syncing my personal data. I tried linking the two contact cards to stop this, but it hasn't fixed it.

I don't want to turn this feature off because it's useful. But my god, Apple's engineers need to think these things through better.

TBF, Apple probably assumes you're going to dual sim one phone so that it's not an issue. They probably don't ever consider that people won't want a personal line attached with a business line on a singular device.

 

[Smith288]

It’s an elegant solution to how to exchange contact info between two consenting people.

It'd be more elegant if you were to just go into Messages, create a new message and say "what's your phone number?"

 

[CarAnalogy]

"The intent of the post was to get parents engaged with their children."

No, you told people to turn off a feature based on a misunderstanding of how it works and a failure to do a quick Google search.

This is a great opportunity to engage with their children about an even more important topic: independent verification of things they read on the internet. Research is a very important skill, far too little emphasized.

 

[tooloud10]

I've two iPhones – one personal, one provided by my employer.

Obviously, I often hold them in the same hand when going somewhere. And they start to do name drop. Animations, sound effects, screens showing my contact photo and a confirmation request. Utterly, utterly dumb.

The two phones use two different iCloud accounts because, obviously, I don't want my employer syncing my personal data. I tried linking the two contact cards to stop this, but it hasn't fixed it.

I don't want to turn this feature off because it's useful. But my god, Apple's engineers need to think these things through better.

My 13PM and 15PM are usually stacked when I'm not using either of them but they are on the same AppleID and never prompts me for NameDrop.

I suspect Apple would say that that the best way for a single person to use two iPhones is to have them on the same AppleID and adjust the settings to turn things off that you don't want your employer to see.

One nice thing that Apple did with MDM is to plainly tell you the user what the MDM admin can see.

 

[BaldiMac]

It'd be more elegant if you were to just go into Messages, create a new message and say "what's your phone number?"

Hah! Didn’t think that one through. 😀

 

[ChromeCloud]

The world is getting so dumb about privacy concerns that we cannot have technology that “just works” anymore.

Do you remember the times when you could just browse the internet without clicking on “accept” every single time you opened a damn link?

 

[bondr006]

Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how functions.

As noted by The Washington Post, there have 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:
While it's true that NameDrop is turned on by default, the way that it functions is more nuanced than simply putting two iPhones near each other.

NameDrop works when two iPhones running iOS 17.1 or an iPhone with iOS 17.1 and an Apple Watch running watchOS 10.1 are placed right next to each other, as in almost touching. When the two devices come in close contact and both are unlocked, there is a pop up prompting users to share contact information or an image.

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.

Multiple police departments posted the warning above, which was widely shared on Facebook and other social networks. The message from the Noble County Sheriff's Office in Ohio, for example, got upwards of 70,000 shares, while the Dewey Police Department in Pennsylvania's warning was shared 11,000 times. 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.

Several local news stories have also shared similar questionable NameDrop information. KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, for example, interviewed several people and included quotes suggesting NameDrop happens automatically.
If anything, NameDrop has the potential to be more irritating than dangerous, simply because it's likely to activate when your phone is next to someone else's and unlocked, in a situation like a dinner or meeting. Given the negative feedback, Apple may in a future update turn NameDrop off by default, but those who want to disable it now can do so by opening up the Settings app, going to AirDrop, and turning off "Bringing Devices Together."

Article Link: Police Departments and News Sites Spreading Misinformation About How iOS 17 NameDrop Feature Works

"but those who want to disable it now can do so by opening up the Settings app, going to AirDrop, and turning off Bringing Devices Together."

The correct order: Settings - General - Airdrop - Bringing Devices Together

 

[ebika]

Not sure that your Contact card is the best place to be storing your Social Security Number. Does it have a dedicated field for that, or did you just choose to use it that way? Think of a Contact card as a business card. You wouldn't write your SSN on your business cards, would you? But in the same token, I guess you wouldn't put your birthdate on your business card either.

Does the US issue physical cards for SSNs? You can use Wallet to store any arbitrary card. Maybe that's a safer place?

Your sincere reply is nice of you, but I’m pretty sure the post you’re replying to was sarcasm and poking fun at the original police statements.

 

[I7guy]

It'd be more elegant if you were to just go into Messages, create a new message and say "what's your phone number?"

That’s not as elegant and requires more steps.

 

[jvchappy]

This is such BS. My local police department shared the same thing and I got in a big comment fight with people talking about it. Name Drop is an amazing feature that will kill business cards. I'm here for it