Police warn parents about the danger of Apple’s new feature – and urge them to deactivate it

Police departments are warning iPhone users to be wary of Apple's new NameDrop feature, citing security and privacy concerns.

This feature is part of the iOS 17 update and is used to quickly share contact details with iPhone or Apple Watch users. The feature was also added as part of the Apple Watch OS 10.1 update.

To access this feature, users place their devices on top of each other, leaving a few centimeters of space between them until the NameDrop prompt appears on both screens.

When the notification pops up, users can select the option to exchange contact details or just one person can choose to share their personal information with the other, without receiving their contact details in return.

A NameDrop request can be quickly canceled by either disconnecting devices or locking the screen before the transfer is completed successfully.

Police are concerned that the ease of data transfer could be disastrous for children, who they say could be forced to share all their details.

The information can include a photo, phone number, email address, or other personal information, and some local authorities issue formal warnings to users.

“We urge all members of our community to take proactive steps to protect their privacy and the privacy of their loved ones by turning this feature off,” the Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama said in a statement. statement in Facebook.

The Henry County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee, the Halifax Police Department in Virginia, the Mount Pleasant Village Police Department in Wisconsin, and the Middletown Police Department in Ohio also issued similar warnings.

To turn off NameDrop, users can select Airdrop from the General tab in the Settings app and turn off the “Bringing Devices Together” option.

Alan Kreutz, a cybersecurity expert at IT company InfoStream, warned iPhone users that strangers walking by might try to receive contact information using NameDrop, saying CBS Philadelphia: “We've seen how bad guys, pedophiles and other people really take advantage of” personal information, calling the feature a “major red flag.”

Apple says it has created a feature for users to share specific contact information with each other, while blocking out information they want to keep private.

An Apple spokesperson declined Dailymail.com's request for a statement.

Apple users can use the NameDrop feature from iPhone to Apple Watch in the same way they connect one phone to another.

Although many police departments are issuing urgent warnings to parents about the dangers of the NameDrop feature, the South Bend Police Department (SBPD) in Indiana is debunking some of the misinformation circulating online on Facebook. mail.

SBPD listed the rumor that a stranger could pass personal details simply by walking past another iPhone user, but explained that since the devices need to be stacked close together, that's not possible.

However, the SBPD acknowledged that rumors that the technology could be used to obtain minors' contact information have some truth.

“If, for example, a child or someone who does not have the ability to read or understand functions on a device is asked to use NameDrop, they may agree to have their contact details sent, without understanding the prompt on their phone,” the department wrote.

“Parents and caregivers should evaluate whether this feature is appropriate for their child or loved one’s device.”

However, some experts say parents and authorities are overreacting to the NameDrop feature, saying it is not as dangerous as it is made out to be.

“Given the panic here about taking contact information without consent, I'm not that concerned,” said Mark Bartholomew, a law professor who focuses on cyber law at the University at Buffalo. New York times.

The risk of someone accessing the NameDrop feature without the user's knowledge or permission is a “very tenuous reality,” cybersecurity analyst Davey Winder wrote in an op-ed for Forbes.

Both phones must be unlocked to access the NameDrop feature, and Winder added that if a stranger actually gains access to an unlocked phone, “it's game over as far as privacy is concerned.”

Child identity theft is a growing problem in the United States, with approximately 1.25 million children — or about 1 in 50 — affected each year, and in most cases, the victim knows the perpetrator, according to the 2021 report. Stady By Javelin Strategy and Research.

Kelly Merriman, president and chief operating officer of digital safety company Aura, told The Washington Post that children can't always tell the difference between a person with good or bad intentions and will sometimes reveal personal details to identity thieves.

Bartholomew said that while specific concerns about NameDrop's security are unfounded, it's still worth being wary of new technology.

“Often we see new technologies and exchange our information without thinking about the trade-off,” he said. He added that when a new feature is introduced, “we should be careful before we adopt it.”