Be smarter than your smartphone

Apple iPhone 17’s new feature NameDrop has created quite a stir over the weekend, with majority of the concerns blown out of proportion.

A Facebook post circulating around law enforcement social media sites around the Big Horn Basin and the country states, “For those of you with iPhones that recently installed the update (IOS 17) please be aware that this update automatically turns on a setting called bringing devices together. This feature allows information like your phone number, photos, and other information to be shared by just holding your phone close to another iPhone. You can disable this feature by going into settings, general, AirDrop, and then switching it off. We want everyone to be safe with their information so please take a look at this for yourselves and your children and determine what is best for you.”

Yes, the update installed an app call NameDrop. However, NameDrop is designed to share contact information with only intended recipients and users can choose the specific contact information they want to share — and, which information they do not want to share. 

Second, it is easy to turn off just like any app on your phone.

Third, the app does not just connect to any iPhone willy nilly. It is not as dangerous as the posts and people are making it out to be. Users can select what information they want to send and must tap on share to exchange contact information.

No contact information is automatically shared when two devices are brought together without a user taking action.

Before NameDrop, we had an instance where a customer wanted to share a photo with us and wanted to use AirDrop and it is not a simple process. The phones have to be extremely close and there are permissions that both parties have to grant before the information is shared.

Another thing the posts do not make clear is that phones must be unlocked. So if you are waiting in line at the grocery store with your phone in your purse locked then NameDrop cannot be used.

Also, iPhone users must choose to initiate the exchanging of contact information by holding the display of their iPhone very close — within a few centimeters — of another person’s iPhone or Apple Watch. When phones are connected, both phones will vibrate and show a glow from the top of the display to clearly indicate that a connection is being made. Users must continue to hold their devices near each other until the option to NameDrop appears on both screens and then the users can choose if they want to share their email or phone number.

To cancel NameDrop at any time, a user can simply swipe from the bottom of the display, lock their device or move their device away if the connection has not been established.

So what can we learn from all of this?

First, pay attention when there are updates to your phone or any device. How many of use click “next” or “skip” when we see the pop up that your device has been updated “click here to see what’s new.”

If you are upset that NameDrop was added to your phone without your knowledge then take the time to “see what’s new.”

If the phone does not pop that up but you know it updated go to Apple’s website or the website that coordinates with your device.

Yes, it is frustrating that things that are added are always defaulted to “On,” but it is on us as users of devices to know what is on our devices.

There are times I go through and look at my apps and have to Google what some of the apps are and if they are necessary. I delete those I don’t want or disable those I know I don’t need.

Second, pay attention to warnings from law enforcement or from others on social media, but do your own research. I know the law enforcement agencies who posted or shared posts were only trying to keep people safe. I am guessing that many of the agencies are like many on social media. They see a post, they share it without doing any research on their own or expanding on it.

When I saw the posts I did my own research and I do not even have an iPhone so it was more curiosity if this app was as evil as the posts made it seem. In doing the research, which did not take a lot of time, I found the information that I have shared here.

It is us up to us to know what our smartphone can and cannot do. We should not expect to wait for social media posts to tell us what is on our smartphones.

Smartphones are “smart” and often we let them do a lot of things for us, but we should not let them do all of our thinking for us.

So shut off the NameDrop app if you like and while you are at it, check on other apps to see what else you may or may not want on as a default.