New England Police Departments Say This iPhone Setting Could Be Used to Steal Your Info

It's merely a safety precaution because technology talks to technology, and police departments around the country are recommending that any of us with Apple products check our settings immediately. A new feature could be used to steal your information.

According to Boston 25 News, this latest IOS update for iPhone has automatically turned on a sharing mechanism for any and all iPhones, watches, and iPads near you. It's the IOS 17.1 update (and 10 for the Apple watches) called NameDrop. Here's how it works, in case you haven't done this yet.

This new NameDrop feature is automatically set to ON after you've updated your iPhones. It allows other iPhone users (as well as iPads and Apple watches) to quickly share contact information, photos, etc. with nearby Apple devices. It's like AirDrop. However, police around the country are warning us that it could be used nefariously or info could be accidentally shared with strangers.

It's meant as an easy-sharing component where iPhones, iPads, and Apple watches can share info from device to device just by holding them close to each other. However, according to Boston 25 News, it's best to just keep it turned off so you're not accidentally sharing info, receiving info, or even worse, having information you don't want shared end up in devices meant to use your information in a harmful way.

It's really just a safety precaution. I just switched mine because I recently updated my iPhone, and wouldn't you know it, the NameDrop was on.

How to Turn Off NameDrop

• Go to Settings
• Tap “General”
• Tap “AirDrop”
• Turn “Bringing Devices Together” to off