Apple Limits iPhone File-Sharing Tool Used for Protests in China
- Company puts 10-minute cap on receiving files in AirDrop
- Change is made in China, but will eventually expand globally
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Apple Inc. has limited the AirDrop wireless file-sharing feature on iPhones in China after the mechanism was used by protesters to spread images to other iPhone owners.
AirDrop allows the quick exchange of files like images, documents or videos between Apple devices. The latest version -- iOS 16.1.1, released Wednesday -- caps the window in which users can receive files from non-contacts at 10 minutes. The previous options didn’t limit the time involved. Users could choose to get files from everyone, no one or just their contacts.