AirDrop, Quick Share and Bluetooth: who can reach your phone in a crowd
In an airport, a festival or a packed metro carriage, the people around you can see your phone's name and try to send it files if your sharing settings are open. Set AirDrop and Quick Share to contacts only, give your phone a name that does not include yours, and do not accept Bluetooth pairing requests you did not start. It takes two minutes and nothing you use day to day stops working.
See eSIM plansWhat people nearby can see
Apple's guide says the name you give your iPhone is the one used by AirDrop, Bluetooth, Personal Hotspot, iCloud and your computer. If it is still set to your full name followed by iPhone, that is what appears on the screens of people nearby when they open AirDrop or look for a hotspot. To change it, go to Settings, General, About, Name. Something neutral works better than your name on a trip, and it helps when you share your data with a friend, because the hotspot shows up under the same name. Our guide on sharing your mobile data with another phone covers that part.
Android phones also show a device name to people nearby when Bluetooth or Quick Share is visible. Where you change it depends on the brand, so search for device name in Settings and check what it says before you leave.
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AirDrop: Contacts Only is all you need
Apple offers three receiving options: Receiving Off, Contacts Only and Everyone for 10 Minutes. You can change them in Settings, General, AirDrop, or by pressing and holding the connectivity controls in Control Center. Everyone for 10 Minutes switches itself back after ten minutes, to Contacts Only if you are signed in to your Apple Account or to Receiving Off if you are not, so you can open it for a moment to swap photos with someone you just met.
When both iPhones run iOS 26.2 or later and you are not in each other's contacts, Apple asks for an AirDrop code: the person receiving taps Get AirDrop Code and tells it to the sender. The sender is then added to an Other Known list in Contacts for 30 days, and you can mark them as unknown before then. Whatever the setting, an incoming item still has to be accepted on the receiving phone.
Quick Share on Android
Open Settings, search for Quick Share and tap Who can share with you. Google lists three options. Your devices keeps you visible only to your own devices signed in to the same Google Account. Contacts makes you visible to nearby contacts while your screen is on and unlocked. Everyone for 10 minutes switches back to your previous choice after ten minutes.
There is one more state to watch: while the Quick Share screen is open in Receive mode, Google says your phone is visible to anyone nearby, and leaving that screen ends it. Transfers from anyone other than your own devices show a notification with who is sending and what, and you have to tap Accept or Decline. In a crowd, Decline anything you were not expecting.
Bluetooth: what INCIBE warns about
INCIBE, Spain's national cybersecurity institute, describes an attack called bluesnarfing, in which someone gets into a device over Bluetooth to take contacts, messages or files. It says any device with Bluetooth on and set to be visible is exposed, especially without its security updates, that the usual range is around 15 metres, and that shopping centres, airports and busy events are ideal places for it.
Its advice is practical: avoid visible mode, do not accept pairing requests from devices you do not recognise, remove paired devices you no longer use and switch Bluetooth off when you do not need it. On Android phones, Google's Pixel help notes that nearby devices can find yours while the Bluetooth settings screen is open, so close it once your headphones are paired.
Switching Bluetooth off properly on iPhone
Tapping the Bluetooth icon in Control Center does not turn Bluetooth off. Apple explains that it only disconnects your accessories, while AirDrop, Apple Watch, Instant Hotspot, Continuity features and Location Services keep working. It also comes back on by itself at 5 a.m. local time or when you restart the phone. To switch it off completely, go to Settings, Bluetooth.
You do not have to live with it off. If you use wireless headphones or a watch on the trip, keeping Bluetooth on is fine. What protects you is the rest of this page: sharing limited to contacts, a phone name that says nothing about you, updates installed and every unexpected request declined.
Can a stranger send me photos by AirDrop?
Only if your AirDrop is open to everyone, and even then the item has to be accepted on your iPhone. Set it to Contacts Only, or Receiving Off, and strangers cannot send you anything.
Does Everyone for 10 Minutes stay on if I forget?
No. Apple says it switches back after ten minutes, to Contacts Only if you are signed in to your Apple Account or to Receiving Off if you are not.
Is it enough to turn Bluetooth off from Control Center?
No. On iPhone that only disconnects accessories, and Bluetooth comes back on at 5 a.m. or after a restart. Turn it off in Settings, Bluetooth if you want it fully off.
Should I accept a pairing request from a device I do not know?
No. INCIBE advises never accepting Bluetooth pairing requests from devices you do not recognise. Only pair when you started the process yourself.
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