Most people think that their phone is pretty secure because there's a passcode needed to open it, however, for many, a stranger just needs to be nearby to be able to figure out their name, which can lead to pretty dangerous situations.
It's an issue Kelly Rocklein learned about the hard way, and she shared her experience on TikTok. In her video, Kelly explains how she was at the airport with big headphones on when a man approached her to tell her she could use an outlet he had been using. She said she was fine and he went away, but returned a few minutes later, tried making small talk with her even though she explained she was busy, and then asked her if her name was Kelly R. Shocked and scared, she asked how he knew that and he responded, "Oh, I opened up my AirDrop."
Not surprisingly, the post is captioned, "Ladies, change your AirDrop name NOW!"
In another video, Kelly details exactly how to change how you appear in AirDrop.
Commenters praised Kelly for the videos and offered their own suggestions, like making your name "iPhone" on your devices, or having AirDrop be accessible only to your contacts.
Per Apple, AirDrop is actually set to "contacts only" as a default, but sometimes people change it to "Everyone" if they need to send a large file or a bunch of photos to someone who isn't a contact. They then forget to change it back to "Contacts Only." Apple has since accounted for this, adding an AirDrop option that allows everyone to see the phone, but only for a limited time. It's called "Everyone for 10 Minutes" and is available on iOS 16.2 or later.
To change how you are using AirDrop, go to Settings, then General, then AirDrop.