Massachusetts police departments warning public of iPhone feature that shares contact information

Police in Massachusetts are warning the public concerning a new iPhone update.

The Dighton Police Department is one of several in the state issuing the following statement.

“If you have an iPhone and have done the recent iOS 17 update, they have set a new feature called NameDrop defaulted to ON. This feature allows the sharing of your contact info just by bringing your phones close together. To shut this off go to Settings, General, AirDrop, Bringing Devices Together. Change to OFF. PARENTS: Don’t forget to change these settings after the update on your children’s phones, iPads, or other Apple devices.”

According to Apple, there are a few more steps after the phones are brought together.

1. Do one of the following:

-Share from iPhone to iPhone or Apple Watch: Hold the display of your iPhone a few centimeters from the top of the other person’s iPhone or Apple Watch.

-Share from Apple Watch to another Apple Watch: Open the Contacts app on your Apple Watch, tap your picture in the top-right corner, tap Share, then bring your watch close to the other person’s Apple Watch.

A glow emerges from both devices and Apple Watch vibrates to indicate a connection is being made.

2. Continue holding your devices near each other until NameDrop appears on both screens.

3. Choose to share your contact card and receive the other person’s, or to only receive the other person’s.

To cancel, move the two devices away from each other or lock your iPhone before the NameDrop transfer completes.

NameDrop only works for sending new contact information, not updating an existing contact.