Apple limits AirDrop in China after its use in protests

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Author: Jess Weatherbed

A screeshot of AirDrop on an iPhone, displaying the options of “Recieveing Off”, “Contacts Only”, and “Everyone for 10 Minutes.”

AirDrop in China is now limited to just ten minutes of wireless file-sharing for “Everyone” following its use in protests against the Chinese government. | Image: Bloomberg

Apple has placed time restrictions on AirDrop wireless file-sharing across iPhones in China after the feature was used by protesters to share images opposing the Chinese government, Bloomberg reports.

The “Everyone” option in Airdrop is now limited to a ten-minute window for users in China. After the ten minutes have passed, AirDrop’s device-to-device sharing will switch back to “Contacts Only,” making it harder to distribute content to strangers en masse. These new time restrictions have been introduced by Apple just weeks after the service was used to spread posters opposing president Xi Jinping.

iOS 16.1.1 release notes make no mention of the new limitations

The AirDrop restriction was included in the public release of iOS 16.1.1 on...

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