Police Departments Issue Warning On New iPhone Feature

U.S. police departments are issuing warnings to iPhone and Apple Watch owners following the release of an Apple software update.

At first, Apple promoted their new iOS as having many new security provisions, such as Lockdown Mode, which stops iPhones from connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Additionally, it removes geolocation information from images prior to them being shared with others.

However, law enforcement officials have been particularly disturbed by the NameDrop feature, which enables users to swap contact information and images between two iPhones or Apple Watches just by putting them close together.

According to Apple, you can make use of NameDrop by keeping the display of an iPhone or Apple Watch a couple of centimeters away from the top of the other individual’s device. Apple stated that a luminous effect will appear on both gadgets, implying that the connection is established.

Apple states that it is possible to end the NameDrop process by either moving the two devices away from one another or by engaging the lock on either the watch or phone before the NameDrop has finished.

Law enforcement authorities asserted that when cell phones are updated, this setting is preset to “enabled”.

To disable the AirDrop setting on iPhones, head to Settings, General, AirDrop, and toggle the switch for Bringing Devices Together to the ‘off’ position.

On Nov. 7, the latest version of the Apple IOS was released. This is only available for the iPhone SE (2nd generation and later), XR, and more recent models.

Apple reported that the purpose of NameDrop is to offer users the ability to share their contact information with only their desired recipients. They have the option to decide which information they would like to share as well as which information they would like to keep private.