New iPhone Feature Is Not A Safety Risk, Despite Montco Police Alarms: Experts

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Alarm bells originally rung by social media posts on TikTok and Instagram about safety risks of a new iPhone feature have been reshared by police departments around the region and across Montgomery County, but experts say residents shouldn't be concerned.

The warnings stem from viral videos — the first one on TikTok garnered millions of page views — claiming that a new iPhone "Namedrop" feature, added with the latest iOS update, allows strangers on buses or the gym to steal personal contact information.

"This feature allows the sharing of your contact info just by bringing your phones close together," according to the viral warning reshared by several local police departments, which made note of parents needing to take steps to protect the "safety" of their children.

But experts say this is simply not true.

NameDrop is a real feature, but it's not nearly so simple for strangers to steal your information. To start with, both phones need to be turned on, unlocked, and touching at the ends. There are then multiple prompts that both users need to accept in order to share their phone number and contact information. The entire process will be canceled if the two phones move apart at any point.

"You shouldn’t worry about NameDrop being some huge security risk," Wired says, noting that despite what the viral, misleading warnings are claiming, "Some random person on the street can’t just bump into you for a few seconds, and then walk away with your phone number."

The NameDrop feature can be toggled on and off by navigating to settings, general, AirDrop, and bringing devices together