A recent post on social media has incorrectly stated that Apple's AirDrop feature is a financial security risk.
There's a lot to love about TikTok, mainly the creativity of users and the ease of sharing information. However, that can be a double-edged sword as misinformation is just as easy to spread. One such victim is Apple's AirDrop feature, which has recently been at the center of a rumor that claims it makes it easier for thieves to steal Apple Pay information.
One of the most prominent videos, with over 1.1 million views, cautions people to disable the AirDrop feature. According to the video, Apple Pay users with the AirDrop feature enabled are at risk of having their financial details stolen. However, as stated in The Daily Dot, this kind of concern is based on a misunderstanding about how AirDrop works.
The first thing to note is that Apple Pay information is encrypted, and isn't accessible by the phone's file management system. This makes it impossible to share the details via AirDrop. For reference, AirDrop allows you to send photos, videos, documents, playlists, app and website passwords, contact information and pinned locations on Apple Maps.
This all seems very familiar to, and is likely a result of, the concern back in 2023 regarding iOS 17's NameDrop feature. If you don't recall, the entire incident revolved around law enforcement organizations incorrectly stating that NameDrop could allow people to steal user data without the owner's knowledge. However, the fear once again ignored the several steps in place that stop this from being possible, mainly the requirement for confirmation.
It is easy to find new sharing features concerning, but it's worth noting that phone makers want to make your device as safe as possible. The easiest solution to all of this is to simply reject any AirDrop requests, or set AirDrop to contacts only. In the meantime, there are very real concerns regarding the RCS communication between iPhone and Android that should be noted by users.
