Imagine you’re at a conference meeting new people from different businesses, or at a kid’s birthday party making small talk with other parents. Once the time comes to exchange contact information, you don’t have to swap phones or send awkward texts, as long as you both have iPhones running iOS 17 or higher.
In iOS 17, there’s a new AirDrop feature that lets you exchange contact information with someone by touching two iPhones together. It’s called NameDrop, and here’s how it actually works.
What is NameDrop?
NameDrop is a new feature in iOS 17 that allows iPhone and Apple Watch users to easily share contact information with a nearby iPhone or Apple Watch.
We’re used to sharing contacts with the Share Sheet, but NameDrop makes giving someone your contact details virtually effortless. The feature even lets users choose which phone numbers or email addresses they want to share with each other.
How to share contacts from an iPhone with iOS 17’s NameDrop feature
Step 1: In order for you to NameDrop your contact information, you first need to make sure that NameDrop and AirDrop proximity sharing are enabled. Open the Settings app, and then tap on General. After that, navigate to the AirDrop tab. Once you open the tab, simply toggle the Bring Devices Together option on. This should be on by default.
You also need to make sure that both iPhones are awake. This could be as simple as tapping the power button to bring the screen to life, or fully unlocking it with FaceID or TouchID. If your iPhone’s not awake, you won’t be able to share contact information with NameDrop.
Step 2: Touch the front of your iPhone to the front of another iPhone running iOS 17 and wait a second. You’ll feel haptic feedback in both phones and an animation on the screen before each other’s Contact Posters appear on both iPhones. If this doesn’t happen, confirm the other person also has the Bringing Devices Together setting enabled.
Each iPhone displays two options: Receive Only—which only accepts the other contact—and Share, which exchanges contact information..
Step 3: Below your name, you’ll see a summary of what information will be shared. By default, this is just your phone number, but you can choose to share additional fields from your contact record — such as your email or physical address — by selecting the fields you want to include. When you’re done, tap Done.
Step 4: When you’re ready, tap Share to share your contact information with the other person. Alternatively, you can choose Receive Only if you only want to receive the other person’s contact card without sharing your own.
Step 5: If you change your mind at any time and decide you don’t want to share contact info, move your iPhone away from the other person’s iPhone or Apple Watch, swipe up to return to the home screen, or simply press the side button to lock your device. Doing any of these things will cancel the NameDrop session.
To make the most out of this feature, I recommend that you Make Your Contact Poster first.
After contacts have been exchanged via NameDrop, you can touch the front of two iPhones together to share content via AirDrop. For instance, open a photo in Photos, touch the front of your iPhone to the front of another iPhone, and after you see the animation, tap Share on your iPhone to send over that photo.
You can also try this while watching video or listening to music to initiate SharePlay.