iPhone AirDrop Privacy: What It Shares and How to Lock It
iPhone already has the controls you need. Set AirDrop to Contacts Only or Receiving Off, and use Everyone for 10 Minutes only when you mean it. Since iOS 26.2, strangers also need a code from you before they can send anything.
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What do I need to know?
- You choose who can send to you. Receiving Off, Contacts Only, or Everyone for 10 Minutes.
- Everyone is temporary. Since iOS 16.2 it switches back after 10 minutes.
- You can always decline. Apple says the recipient can accept or decline each transfer.
How do I lock AirDrop down?
These steps are from Apple's guide to using AirDrop for iOS 27.
- Open Control Center.
- Touch and hold the top-left group of controls.
- Tap the AirDrop button.
- Choose Contacts Only, or Receiving Off if you never use it.
Apple's AirDrop article explains the timer. In iOS 16.2 and later, Everyone for 10 Minutes changes back after 10 minutes. It returns to Contacts Only if you are signed in to an Apple Account, and to Receiving Off if you are not.
What are AirDrop codes?
With iOS 26.2 or later, someone who is not in your contacts must use an AirDrop code to send you something. If you choose to receive it, a code appears on your iPhone. You share it with the sender, they enter it, and the item comes through.
After that, the two of you can AirDrop for 30 days without a new code. To end it sooner, open the Contacts app, find the person under Other Known, and tap Forget This Person.
What happens to what I receive?
Most items are saved in the app they came from. A photo sent from Photos lands in your Photos library. It then syncs like any other photo if you use iCloud Photos.
Between your own devices, signed in to the same Apple Account, items are accepted automatically. Apple says transfers are encrypted, and they can continue over the internet if you move out of range.
Can I stop AirDrop using mobile data?
Yes. Go to Settings → General → AirDrop and turn off Use Cellular Data. Apple suggests this if you want to avoid roaming charges, for example when you travel.
What about sending private photos by AirDrop?
AirDrop is a fine way to hand a photo to someone in the room. Remember what happens next: it lands in their library, where their iCloud, their shared albums and their passcode all apply.
If the photo is sensitive, ask whether they need to keep it. Showing it on your own screen is often enough. Our guide to encrypting a video before sending it covers other ways to send.
What this doesn't protect against
AirDrop settings control who can send to you, not what happens to what you send. Once a photo is on someone else's phone, it is out of your hands. Accepting a file from a stranger by mistake is still possible, so read the prompt before you tap. A vault keeps photos private on your own phone, not on theirs.
Do it with Cryptile
Keep received photos you want to keep private in Cryptile, outside your library. Share them in from Photos, then delete the originals. Cryptile Send for encrypted sharing is coming and is not available yet.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos. Plus removes the limits and adds the panic pattern and search inside the vault, for $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once.