iOS 16.2 has an AirDrop time limit
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The release of Apple iOS 16.2 will extend the 10-minute time limit for receiving shares from all AirDrop users in China to every market it serves.
In the iOS 16.1.1 update and the iOS 16.2 developer beta, Apple has added a ten-minute limit to AirDrop sharing using Everyone. It limited the feature to customers in China, but announced in November that it would expand the limit to customers worldwide.
It's time for a cap, and Apple users everywhere will see it when they update to iOS 16.2. After 10 minutes, the “Everyone” setting will change to “Contacts Only”.
AirDrop has three options for sending and receiving content. “Receiving Off” disables this feature, while “Contacts Only” ensures that people only receive AirDrop content from people in their contacts.
The Everyone setting, which has a 10-minute time limit focused on, means anyone with an Apple device can get something via AirDrop. Prior to the change, the “all” setting was persistent until the user toggled it.
In the past few weeks, it has been widely discussed that Apple introduced this feature in cooperation with the Chinese government. Critics have argued that this was done to thwart protesters who could distribute anti-government material via AirDrop.
Apple made changes prior to the protests in China. He also did not announce the change when he first put it into effect and did not comment on it publicly until he stated that he was rolling out the change worldwide.
Protesters have used this feature to their advantage in the past. For example, in 2019, people in Hong Kong reportedly used AirDrop to distribute digital pamphlets about the extradition bill.
