Do your friends always accuse you of namedropping when you bring up that one time you bumped into Morgan Freeman at the airport? Well, namedropping may no longer be such a bad thing, thanks to Apple’s latest contact sharing feature.
In iOS 17, twoiPhone userscan quickly and easily share contact details just by bringing their phones close together. It uses a method similar toApple’s AirDrop, and whoever came up with the name for the feature deserves some kind of prize. Here’s how to use Apple NameDrop to share contacts. We also have a separate feature onhow to turn NameDrop offif it doesn’t sound like its up your street.
What is NameDrop?
NameDrop is a new feature iniOS 17that makes it possible to share contact details between iPhones quickly and easily by simply bringing them close to each other. You no longer have to manually enter someone’s details, and then call them or message them so that they have yours. All you need to do is touch your iPhones together and your contact cards - orContact Posters if you have set them up- can be instantly shared between devices.
It’s particularly useful if you want to share contact details with a lot of people, as you can add multiple contacts to your iPhone in a matter of seconds.
How does NameDrop work?
Apple’s AirDrop sharing feature works by sending out a Bluetooth signal. If that signal is recognised by another iPhone, it sends a Bluetooth signal back. The two iPhones will then set up a direct Wi-Fi connection over which the contact details can be shared. NameDrop uses a similar technique but uses the NFC sensor in the top of your iPhone to detect the other phone and set up the connection.
How to set up your iPhone to use NameDrop
The NameDrop feature is part of iOS 17, so both iPhones will need to be running that version of iOS if you want to use NameDrop. The final build of the software was made available on 18 September so you should be able to access it and download it, as long as you havea compatible iPhone.
As NameDrop uses both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to make the secure connection, you’ll need to ensure that both Bluetooth and Wireless are enabled on both phones. In addition, since you wouldn’t be sharing contacts with someone who is already in your contact book, you’ll have to set AirDrop discovery to include people outside your contact list.
Once both iPhones have these settings in place, you’re ready to start using NameDrop.
How to share contacts with NameDrop.
If both iPhones are set up to use NameDrop as explained above, then using NameDrop is as simple as bringing your iPhones close together.
If you try bringing your iPhones together again, you’ll no longer see the contact cards appear as you’re already in each other’s contacts. Instead, you’ll see the option toAirDrop filesbetween you.
