What was born as fit to contain quick sharing of images and documents among protesters in China, who had used the service to circumvent censorship measures introduced in the country, may now soon find introduction globally.
This can be seen from a report that emerged during the last day by Bloomberg and which concerns the most recent versions of the operating system, namely iOS 16.1.1 and the beta version for developers of iOS 16.2, in which Apple may soon add the ten-minute restriction on sharing materials via AirDrop imitating the Chinese decision and effectively castrating the “Everyone” setting, therefore with specific reference to the open function, leaving aside that relating to sharing with our contacts.
Leaving AirDrop set to “Everyone” means that anyone within range of an Apple user can wirelessly send files to everyone, as opposed to “Contacts Only” which affects our personal network. The device will then present a pop-up window asking the user to accept or decline the file sharing request.
Protesters have used this work to their advantage many times in the past. This happened in 2019, for example, when Hong Kong protesters allegedly used AirDrop to distribute digital brochures regarding an extradition bill.
In recent weeks, Apple has been at the center of the cyclone for several controversial decisions, including regarding user privacy. For example, it is recent news that two researchers have noticed that the Cupertino company has been tracking clicks while browsing the App Store since May 2021, after the introduction of iOS 14.6. More details on the affair in our original news.
