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Can a stranger steal contact info from iPhone? No, that’s not how Apple’s NameDrop works.
If Your Time is short
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Apple’s new NameDrop feature, available in iPhones using iOS17.1 and Apple Watches using watchOS 10.1, allows two users to quickly share contact information by tapping and holding their phones close together.
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The contact sharing doesn’t happen automatically, however, if a stranger simply puts his or her phone too close to yours.
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Both phones must be unlocked, and each user must choose whether to send or receive information, or both. They must also choose what information to share.
Can a stranger covertly get your child’s personal data by placing an iPhone near your kid’s phone?
Apple’s new NameDrop iPhone feature allows users to quickly share contact information with their phones. But social media warnings — many from U.S. law enforcement agencies — are stoking privacy fears among parents.
"Stay alert," one Nov. 30 Instagram post warned. "The new iPhone update automatically enables ‘NameDrop.’ If anyone places their iPhone near your iPhone or child’s iPhone, it will automatically receive their contact information including a photo, phone number, email, address, and more."
(Instagram screenshot)
The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
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We found multiple social media posts making similar claims. They may be echoing recent social media warnings from U.S. police departments, as well as news reports about those warnings.
(Facebook screenshots)
A Connecticut police department issued a "tech alert" in a Nov. 26 Facebook post.
"With this feature enabled, anyone can place their phone next to yours (or your child’s phone) and automatically receive their contact information to include their picture, phone number, email address and more, with a tap of your unlocked screen," the post said.
Law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Virginia, Florida and more states have issued similar warnings. One police department in Pennsylvania had such a warning, but has since deleted it.
Many of the posts overstate the risks from the NameDrop feature and do not accurately reflect how it works, experts said.
This Apple video explains how the NameDrop feature works. (Apple via YouTube)
NameDrop was introduced this summer with Apple’s iOS17 update. In a June 5 press release, Apple said users "can hold their iPhone near another to share their contact information with only their intended recipients. Users can also choose the specific contact details they want to share — and, importantly, what information they don’t want to share."
NameDrop is part of Apple’s existing AirDrop feature, which lets users send photos, videos and more to nearby Apple devices.
The NameDrop technology also works with Apple Watch models that use watchOS 10.1.
Getting someone’s contact information isn’t as simple as putting two phones near each other, though. Users must take actions to share their contact information and their phones must be unlocked.
"It was wrongly reported that iPhones would send the information automatically. Physical interaction with the device — pressing an approve button — is required," said Johannes Ullrich, dean of research for SANS Technology Institute, an accredited college established by the SANS Institute, a company that specializes in information security and cybersecurity.
Apple's iPhone user guide explains how NameDrop works:
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To share contact information between two phones, hold the display of your iPhone a few centimeters from the top of the other iphone. Both phones will vibrate and glow when a connection is made.
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Keep holding the phones there until NameDrop appears on both screens.
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Each user can then choose what contact information to share and receive the other person’s, or to receive only the other person’s.
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To cancel, simply move the phones apart or lock your iPhone before the NameDrop transfer completes.
The option to share or receive also goes away if you swipe the screen up, according to a demonstration shared on YouTube by ZolloTech, a technology review website.
"This process necessitates a deliberate and noticeable action, as the phones glow when data is being shared, making it highly improbable for the transfer to occur from a distance of more than a few centimeters," said Rob Lee, the chief curriculum director and faculty lead at SANS Institute.
Lee said if a phone is left open and unlocked and out of reach, it is vulnerable to typical data exposure risks, including contact sharing.
"However, this type of data transfer cannot be executed by merely passing by," Lee said.
People with concerns about NameDrop, which is enabled by default in iOS17, can simply turn it off in their iPhone settings. In your iPhone’s settings, go to General, then select "Airdrop," then turn off the "Bringing Devices Together" option.
Parents and guardians of children who have phones with this capability should go over the feature with their children so that they understand how to use it.
An Instagram post warned that your child’s contact information could be given to a stranger if their iPhones come too close together, thanks to Apple’s new NameDrop feature.
But that is not how the technology works, experts said. To share contact information using NameDrop, two users must place and hold their unlocked phones together, then each person would choose whether to send or receive contact information, or both. They can also choose which information to share, such as an email or a phone number. It’s not something that happens automatically.
We rate this claim False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, Nov. 30, 2023 (archived)
Facebook post, Nov. 30, 2023 (archived)
Watertown, Connecticut, Police Department, Facebook post, Nov. 26, 2023
Dewey, Oklahoma, Police Department, Facebook post, Nov. 25, 2023
Racine County, Wisconsin, Sheriff’s Office, Facebook post, Nov. 27, 2023
Henry County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office, Facebook post, Nov. 25, 2023
Halifax, Virginia, Police Department, Facebook post, Nov. 26, 2023
Broward County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office, Facebook post, Nov. 29, 2023
Apple, Use NameDrop on iPhone to share your contact info, accessed Dec. 1, 2023
Apple, iOS 17 makes iPhone more personal and intuitive, June 5, 2023
Apple, Apple announces powerful new privacy and security features, June 5, 2023
Apple, We’re committed to protecting your data., accessed Dec. 1, 2023
Apple, How to use NameDrop on iPhone | Apple Support, Sept. 21, 2023
Apple, Use AirDrop on iPhone to send items to nearby devices, accessed Dec. 1, 2023
Apple Insider, How to secure NameDrop and keep safe in iOS 17, Nov. 27, 2023
Rob Lee, the chief curriculum director and faculty lead at SANS Technology Institute, email interview, Dec. 1, 2023
Johannes Ullrich, dean of research for SANS Technology Institute, email interview, Dec. 1, 2023
Forbes, Law enforcement issues iOS 17 security warning over NameDrop feature, Nov. 27, 2023
The New York Times, Don’t be afraid of the iPhone’s NameDrop feature, experts say, Nov. 29, 2023
The Washington Post, NameDrop is safe. The fearmongering about it is not., Nov. 27, 2023
ABC News, What parents should know about iPhone's 'NameDrop' feature, Nov. 28, 2023
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Can a stranger steal contact info from iPhone? No, that’s not how Apple’s NameDrop works.
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