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The days when you could give the annoying guy at the bar a fake phone number may be over, thanks to Apple.
A new feature announced by technology giant NameDrop makes sharing your contact information with someone as easy as tapping your iPhones together.
A Bluetooth connection between the two devices calls for NameDrop – eliminating the need to enter their details manually, saving time.
However, iPhone users are concerned that it will become more difficult for them to trump someone with fake data in a tricky situation, such as a “creep” in a nightclub.
iPhone users took to Twitter to share their concerns, with one asking, “What do you call a fake number?”
NameDrop makes sharing your contact information with someone as easy as tapping your iPhones together, just like exchanging business cards
Another user posted: ‘I’m not sure I like namedrop. How do you give a creeper a fake number.’
Yet another said, “Apple is releasing NameDrop? Fam, the time of spreading false names and numbers is over.’
NameDrop — which also works between an iPhone and an Apple Watch — is part of Apple’s new iOS 17 software update, announced this week at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
However, iOS 17 won’t be released until the fall to coincide with the tech giant’s next smartphone, the iPhone 15.
Apple has released a short animation showing how the NameDrop feature works between two iPhone users, which is a bit like exchanging business cards.
Once the two devices come together and the Bluetooth connection is established, each phone displays its ‘contact poster’ – a screen with a picture of their own face, their name and their phone number.
Users have the option to click “Share” to share their contact poster (and therefore their personal information) with the other person, or “Receive Only” if they only want to receive the other person’s contact poster.
If they both tap Share, they can see each other’s contact poster, complete with phone number and quick links to call or message them, or even start a FaceTime video call.
NameDrop can make it more difficult to trick people with fake phone numbers or email addresses
iPhone users took to Twitter to share their concerns about the new feature, with one asking, “What do you call a fake number?”
Another user said, ‘I’m not sure I like namedrop. How do you give a climbing plant a fake number’
said apple in a statement that users can “choose what specific contact information they want to share” and “what information they don’t want to share.”
However, it just works between two Apple devices, meaning you’ll still need to exchange numbers the old-fashioned way if you or the other person has an Android phone.
NameDrop is an extension of AirDrop, the existing tool released over a decade ago that allows users to share files with another Apple device nearby.
Among the other features coming with iOS 17 this fall are the new Journal app to “improve well-being,” audio and video messaging for FaceTime, and Live Voicemail, which lets users see real-time transcription when someone leaves a voicemail.
Apple also announced one new 15-inch MacBook Air with a 15.3-inch display powered by an Apple-designed M2 processor chip, starting at $1,299.
But by far the most hyped announcement was Vision Pro, the company’s first-ever augmented reality headset, lets wearers choose apps with their eyes.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the unveiling that this is the first Apple product “you look forward to and not to,” ushering in a new era of “spatial computing.”
While wearing the headset, users select content in the glasses with their eyes, tap their fingers together to click, and swipe gently to scroll.
And a feature built into the headset called EyeSight lets people in the room see your eyes, unlike Meta’s Quest devices, which have an opaque visor.
Vision Pro will retail in the US from next year starting at a whopping $3,499, which equates to £2,800 – though Apple has yet to announce availability in the UK.
Apple unveiled its long-rumored augmented reality headset on Monday. Vision Pro has a large screen that lies over the eyes and does not require any controllers. A feature built into the headset called EyeSight lets people in the room see your eyes, unlike Meta’s Quest devices, which have an opaque visor