Police departments across the country are issuing a warning about a new iPhone feature called NameDrop following an update to iOS 17. There is concern about its ability to easily share contact information.

NameDrop allows users to share their contact information easily with another iPhone user by ‌holding the phones close together. The feature is automatically set to "on" once the current update is complete. 

Some departments are stressing it is not a public safety concern, but good information to know. Other departments, like the Chesterfield, Mo. Police Department, say it is mainly concerned with the safety of children who “may not exercise the same degree of care and caution that an adult would.”

The department also mentions that with the amount of cyber bullying, cyber attacks and cyber predators in our society, it wanted to inform the public on how to disable the feature. 

Commenters pointed out that it’s not a hidden feature and that your phones need to be “basically on top of each other” and it doesn’t “automatically share any information without your approval.” Others mentioned it is set to “contacts only."

How To Disable NameDrop

To disable, go to "SETTINGS," then tap "GENERAL." Once you are on the next screen, click "AIR DROP" and ‌turn off the option for "BRINGING DEVICES TOGETHER."

According to Apple, the feature is also on Apple Watches. You can learn more about the feature on Apple’s website.