this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2025
363 points (94.4% liked)
196
16845 readers
3737 users here now
Be sure to follow the rule before you head out.
Rule: You must post before you leave.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
How the fuck is it possible to airdrop files to strangers' phones?
That's a massive invasion of privacy. Just imagine getting a notification on your phone while you sit on the bus, and when you click on it, it's a pic of the guy sitting in front of you jerking his cock.
Fun fact: The Chinese government can routinely overcome the encryption used by AirDrop, which allows them to track users and get their phone numbers and email addresses.
Unironically this happened to me in middle school. It's not even a hypothetical situation, it's just what people do lol
it’s not possible anymore iirc because of a recent update. you can enable universal receiving but it turns off after a few minutes always. OOP is making this story up most likely.
Or they meant Quick Share on Android, but I doubt anyone actually uses that.
most likely its just a joke. “i airdropped this to everyone at [location]” has become a trope thats almost its own meme format and doesn’t require any proof.
I hate this. I loved always having airdrop for everyone on and I'd sometimes randomly get funny pictures airdropped and would airdrop funny pictures back. Sometimes even having a random conversation with a stranger in the same place.
This was genuinely a great feature (and something you explicitly disable), so it really sucks that this is not possible anymore (as the setting doesn't exist anymore / turns off automatically after a few minutes).
Maybe Briar? It’s P2P chat app.
https://briarproject.org/how-it-works/
I never tried that. It sounds like it might have been fun with a burner.
I've never had airdrop but this sounds like fun. I would have loved this feature too, even if it meant an occasional unsolicited dick pic.
Because sometimes you need to transfer something to people not in your contacts list but is physically with you.
You have to turn it on to accept other people sending and it shuts off automatically after 10 minutes, and you have to accept the file as well.
Fun fact: China and every other government can track your phone through its connection to the towers and it giving away your IMSI. They don’t need AirDrop to know who is behind what number at what location.
China forced Apple to only allow airdrop to all for a few minutes at a time, as apparently it was a popular way to spread Winnie the Pooh pictures
It was actually digital leaflets, not Winnie the Pooh. (source)
I know it’s not your fault, but honestly, the Winnie the Pooh meme is so overplayed. It distracts from the real, documented activism happening in China and brings up a tired, dehumanizing joke over an incredibly serious issue. It feels ignorant and reduces the gravity of what's happening there. Again, I know you didn’t mean it this way—it’s just a broader problem with how the English-speaking internet often frames these discussions.
Oh no, I do know it is actual dissent circulating, but every now and then it’s good to remind people that for some reason Mr Xi Jinping hates the damn stupid comparison with a cartoon bear. And it is actual dissent, since they’ve actually temporarily blocked queries on Baidu for such The Poo, Winnie
see, you say “every now and then” but i see it every single time
just putting that out there. would love to see a world where English speakers are aware of the material struggles Chinese citizens face, and vice versa, at least alongside the memetic symbols like Pooh and Tank Man, instead of hidden behind them.
Wow, just gotta say, I can’t believe my English became bad enough to be mistaken as an American
edited, my apologies
When they're physically with you and willing to accept files from you, they can give you their number or scan a QR code on your phone.
In any case, airdrop requests should by default be ignored if the sender isn't in your contacts, with an option to toggle that.
Or I can turn on AirDrop temporarily and let them wirelessly send it? How the fuck is handing your phone over to someone better? And a QR code is just annoying compared to tapping a name in a list and the other person accepting your request.
It all depends on implementation. If AirDrop reception is disabled by default and you don't get a notification unless you activate it first, then I guess it's fine.
That’s exactly how it is.
The default is only people in your contacts list can ask to send you stuff or you can have it turned off and it’ll stay off.
oh no my chineseeroos!!! xi jingping is going to airdrop his dick pics to my mother!
They're going to lift your bank and house info oh noooo