No, NameDrop on iPhone Won’t Automatically Share Your Contact Information

While police departments and news sites are asking users to turn off NameDrop in iOS 17, there is no real risk of someone stealing your contact information without your consent.

According to a report by The Washington Post, police departments and news sites are spreading misinformation about "NameDrop," a new feature in iOS 17. These outlets claim that simply bringing your iPhone close to another iPhone allows the other user to steal your contact information, without your consent or any action on your part. If that sounds scary, don't worry: It’s pure hogwash.

Yes, NameDrop is enabled by default on all iPhones running iOS 17.1 or higher, and Apple Watches running watchOS 10.1 and higher. But it can be only used intentionally, and only with your consent. That's what a lot of news outlets and law enforcement agencies are getting wrong. The City of Chester Police Department in Ohio says, “This feature allows the sharing of your contact info just by bringing your phones close together.” Of course it's going to seem dangerous.

How NameDrop actually works

First of all, both iPhones or Apple Watches have to be unlocked. Then, the two devices have to be very close to each other, almost touching. When they come in close contact, your iPhone will prompt you, asking if you want to share your contact information and your Contact Poster, with the other iPhone. From here, you get two options: Receive Only and Share. It's only when you tap Share that the two iPhones will do the dance of swapping contact details. If you choose Receive Only, the other person’s contact details will show up for you if they choose to share, but your contact details will remain private.

If your iPhone is locked, and there’s an unknown iPhone on top of it, this won’t work. Even if it’s unlocked, without your action, there's no risk of losing your personal information. Rest assured, your contact details are safe. Hypothetically, this could be a problem if your iPhone is both unlocked and in someone else's hands. But if that’s the case, you have a much bigger problem than losing your email address and phone number.

How to disable NameDrop on your iPhone

Still, if you want to disable the feature, it can be done from Settings > General > AirDrop > Bringing Devices Together > Off. But again, we wouldn’t recommend this, as it’s not worth losing the excellent AirDrop bump gesture.