10 ms·
When Grown-Ups Get Caught in Teens’ AirDrop Crossfire
- lwansbrough 7y agoHey, adults do this too! I keep a picture of George W. Bush with cornrows on my phone for exactly this reason.
- ThePirateofOz 7y agoAs someone close to AARP age physically, but still only 13 mentally, I keep Astronaut Sloth just for Airdropping to random people.... https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/437645-astronaut-sloth https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/437645-astronaut-sloth
- bitcurious 7y agoDitto, but it's a dramatic photo of a duck.
- lessclue 7y agoVeronica could’ve just turned Airdrop off and moved on with her life.
- T3OU-736 7y agoEh. Sorta. The small form factor of pocket computers belies their functionality, and makes most people treat them as if they are much simpler devices than they really are. The fact that there isn't a manual of operations included with it doesn't help - when was the last time a manual on settings and their ramifications was included with the device? Reasonable defaults, I guess?
- snazz 7y agoIsn’t the default “contacts only”?
- dillonmckay 7y agoGreat insight. I used to really enjoy reading the manuals or instructions of things I would buy or receive as gifts. Technical writing in print-form is a lost art today.
- lotu 7y agoThe lack of a manual feels like a red herring only a small fraction of user actually reads the manual. And among those that do they read it to find a specific thing (like wifi) not to understand the product as a whole.
- 1337biz 7y agoBut what about having an angle to create some fake outrage...
- driverdan 7y agoI have to laugh about them making this out to be a teen thing. Messing with people who have insecure settings is a cornerstone of hacker culture. I'd do this all the time if I had an iPhone. I haven't been a teen for 20 years.
- JeremyBanks 7y agoDo you think they're incorrect to frame this activity as predominantly performed by teens?
- NikolaeVarius 7y agoYes.
- keanebean86 7y agoA few years ago I would name my phone Satan and try to pair with other phones during church. Phones these days aren't visible by default so it's rarely possibly anymore.
- dillonmckay 7y agoThis is amusing on several levels.
- komali2 7y agoHah, awesome. Well, you still have some options. Having a tethered WiFi hotspot open at all times with a silly name - it almost seems to have turned into a sort of contest on Caltrain who can have the most absurd hotspot name.
- keanebean86 7y agoHaha that's pretty good. I also considered connecting to unsecured wifi and renaming it (since 99% of the time it uses default creds) to something like "Brother Tim's porn server" but that is probably too far.
- 7y ago
- camillomiller 7y agoAbsolutely not a thing in Europe or Asia.
- silverfox17 7y agoAre you sure? Because the first thing I Googled seems to say otherwise
- Jonnax 7y agoI'm surprised that privacy focussed Apple allows you to leave your phone broadcasting itself indefinitely. At least that's how I presume Airdrop works. I'm surprised they mention getting lots of requests can crash or slow down the phone.
- js2 7y agoAirDrop reception has three modes: everyone, contacts only, receiving off (send only).
- baud147258 7y agoIt also depends on what's the default is
- js2 7y agoThe default is contacts only. I don't know a single iOS user, including my technically clueless mom, who doesn't know how to change the setting.
- rconti 7y agoThat was harsh. I've had friends AirDrop me stuff. I was pretty sure it was contacts only by default. Had to search in settings to find it though, sure enough, contacts only.
- js2 7y agoSorry. You can get to it from the iOS Control Center more easily. Force/long touch the box with the wireless controls if you don’t already see the AirDrop icon in that box.
- rconti 7y agoI figured it was something like that. I could picture it. The force touch actions are such a great idea but they need to be more intuitive for the 99% of people who don't RTFM and memorize what has an action. It can be so hit or miss.
- splatcollision 7y agoI have experienced this first hand while chaperoning school field trips - it's an amazing ad-hoc local area social network! Definitely emerging cultural patterns via technology. Going to apply for grant money to study, brb.
- yalogin 7y agoI had no idea Airdrop is this popular. Do we have numbers on this? Does it have competition? How is the competition doing?
- DaniloDias 7y agoGotta wonder how many airdroppers are sharing photos with Exif data.
- aerophilic 7y agoAn aside, this seems to be a recurring theme: Kids don’t feel like they have anonymity/a way for something not to last anymore, so they are searching out ways to get it. I recall this being something that came up as SnapChat being valuable for, letting stuff be ephemeral. The good part of this is kids being kids, they find ways, but I am curious if anyone else have found different examples of this type of behavior? The only other equivalent I have seen is the large “group texts” movement for connectivity (with associated Bitmoji/memes etc) Edit: Replaced WhatsApp with SnapChat, thanks for the correction! (Shows how out of touch I am on this stuff)
- dillonmckay 7y agoSnapchat? I still see the majority of college-aged and younger using it consistently.
- faissaloo 7y agoInstagram's taken alot of that userbase
- Wowfunhappy 7y agoIt has, but at least anecdotally, a lot of people I know still use snapchat.
- dillonmckay 7y agoNot really. That is older adults, 22+. Their userbase is getting older.
- neilv 7y agoAnonymous/pseudonymous media -- and sociopathic behavior in same -- was a thing well before dotcoms created the modern surveillance society. Also, children are not good critical thinkers, and will be dragged along through a series of supposed disruptive media introductions that are mostly just different veneers on exploiting them in familiar ways.
- js2 7y agoThis article is about teens pranking strangers (mostly) by sending them images via AirDrop. If you’re not familiar with AirDrop, it uses a combination of Bluetooth and WiFi to allow Apple users to easily share files between devices. AirDrop reception can be placed into three modes: send only, contacts only, everyone. If you don’t want to be pranked, don’t leave AirDrop reception set to everyone. Here’s an Apple article explaining it: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204144 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204144 I’ve never had AirDrop work reliably much farther than about 10-15 feet.
- stronglikedan 7y agoReminds me of Bluejacking back in the day. Take a group picture of a bunch of random strangers in a store, then send it to as many open Bluetooth connections as you can find and watch people scratching their heads trying to figure out who was "watching them". CompUSA was always a good candidate store due to the volume of "techies" in one place.
- mixmastamyk 7y agoBluetooth should be off also, unless you have a use case. (Apparently Bluetooth has some valiant defenders, but I stand by my assertion on security grounds.)
- dewey 7y agoWith Bluetooth headphones being pretty widespread now it’ll probably be enabled most of the time for most people. Especially with the low energy version if doesn’t really matter any more too.
- mixmastamyk 7y agoThat's an extra purchase fitting the "use case" exception mentioned above.
- LeifCarrotson 7y agoI have (and love) Tile Bluetooth locators on my keys and in my wallet. I never loose phone/wallet/keys anymore (or I lose all three simultaneously, in which case I have to log into my laptop or ask my wife to use her Tile app to alarm my phone for me). And my car starts music over my Bluetooth when I turn on the radio. I can answer calls hands-free by pushing a button on the dash. I don't have to touch my phone at all for these things to happen, just to keep it in my pocket or bag. Both of these highly useful functions mean that my Bluetooth is on perpetually. Enabling it only when I wanted to use these features would be a major reduction in functionality for me.
- yardie 7y agoAs a grown man I’ve engaged in some healthy airdropping while using public transport or while waiting in long lines.
- Kuraj 7y agoThis sounds fun, I'm actually considering changing mine to "everyone". Is it safe?
- yardie 7y agoI mean it's using bluetooth. There are known vulnerabilities but if you keep your phone up to date those have been patched. We try doing it in places with crowds: arenas, restaurants, airports, and buses. It can be a nice ice breaker if the receive isn't paranoid, or socially awkward.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- crazygringo 7y agoI don't know if it's just teens. Unfortunately it's pervs too. First time I ever got a random AirDrop was a dick pic while I riding the subway in NYC. Somebody just sending dick pics to strangers on the subway. I hadn't realized Apple had created a whole new avenue for sexual harassment. Great. Apparently at some point in the past I'd changed from the default "contacts only" to "everyone" without realizing what it would open me up to. Obviously it seems like technologically there ought to be a way to identify the sending phone and pass it to the police to find the perp and charge them with a hefty fine at a minimum... but I'd already deleted it (of course) and didn't have the time. Still, seems like Apple ought to provide a kind of "report abuse" mechanism that would disable it from your Apple ID, or something. Also, maybe when an image is from someone not in your contacts... don't show a preview??? Or make it super-super blurry, so you can reject it without being subjected to it?
- komali2 7y agoConsidering the consequences for that person had they displayed their penis on the subway unbidden, it's pretty surprising no legislatures have championed the case for Apple to implement reporting features to airdrop.
- blub 7y agoThe law already recognizes the differences between pictures and actions. Suggesting that they are the same is histrionic. Apple likely assumes that adults don't need a nanny. Parents can disable AirDrop for children.
- pretendscholar 7y agoYou would want to press criminal charges for a dick pic? I never really understood who that hurt, especially when it is adult to adult. I've had them sent to me before and it never really bothered me.
- 001spartan 7y agoIt is sexual assault to expose someone to unwanted sexual advances. It's the same thing as flashing. Why should someone be exposed to a picture of another's genitals when it's unwanted? It's forcing someone else to engage in a sexual way without consent, even if the only reaction is to block the sender, or look away.
- rayiner 7y agoWe need mandatory military service for people 16-20.
- who-knows95 7y agosuch a huge cost and logical nightmare, while i would happily do a year of service, i know it's not for everyone.
- snerbles 7y agoI saw more dicks drawn on random objects when I was in the service than anywhere else.
- Tharkun 7y agoThe ancient Romans apparently enjoyed drawing dicks in public toilets and such. We may think we're more civilized, but it's doubtful that we are.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- oh_sigh 7y agoYou would probably get less of that if the military wasn't as much of a boys club as it is today - which is what you would get if everyone had to serve. I'm curious if countries with required service like Israel or South Korea have less dick drawing because their gender ratio is closer to 50/50 than 80/20
- Kuraj 7y agoThat's sorta unhinged.
- rayiner 7y agoWhat’s unhinged is this extended infancy we’ve created for teenagers.
- rolltiide 7y agoAirdrop is pretty much why I'll never get an android, and believe me those android phones are looking pretty sexy these days! Still, its a serious social handicap. At least the emojis ALMOST translate to the same things on a lot of non-Apple devices now Nobody: Android users: BUT ACTUALLY there's this convoluted way to do it for a whole decade that never works, and look at all this control I have over my device
- dstaley 7y agoAirDrop is one of a few iOS-only technologies I really wish Android and Windows would adopt. I hate having to upload files from my Android phone to Google Drive, open the Google Drive web app (which isn't a quick loader mind you), find the file, and then download it to my computer. Android Beam (may it rest in peace) was a close alternative, but even then it only worked Android-to-Android, and both devices required NFC.
- panpanna 7y agoAnd why do you think Android requires physical action from both parts (nfc touch)? Because this was a thing even during the Nokia times.
- Apotheos 7y agoIs your computer a Mac? I just plug my phone directly into my PC to move files.
- dstaley 7y agoYeah, macOS doesn't support the MTP protocol, and the Android File Transfer app has been broken for ages now.