Apple to Limit AirDrop in China with iOS 16.1.1 (and Rest of the World Coming Soon)

iOS 16.1.1, the new version of the iPhone operating system, which is now available worldwide, has a slight modification for the Asian market, and more specifically for China. Apple limits usage air dropyour file transfer technology between your devicesonly 10 minutes when users in the country activate the “All” optionwhich allows you to share and receive items, such as images, even to any nearby user.

Recall that AirDrop has two options for instantly receiving and sharing files. In particular, “Only contacts” allows you to receive or send files only from those people who are added to the agenda. “All”, on the other hand, offers the ability to share or receive, for example, images, to anyone who also has this option activated and is located at a maximum distance of about 10 or 15 meters. This last option is the one that Apple has begun restricting on all iPhones in China.

Users they can only activate it for 10 minutes. After this period, the “Everyone” option in AirDrop will automatically be disabled and either switch to “Contacts Only” or disable the feature.

But, Why would Apple activate such a restriction only in China? The goal is obviously nothing more than to prevent citizens from sharing content unrestrictedly with other users. This is also an order of the country’s government, and not the decision of Apple itself. The Chinese Communist Party in particular (and according to 9to5Mac), aiming at prevent protesters from airdropping propaganda against President Xi Jinping and your government through this service.

Apple may restrict AirDrop usage globally

Apple also could extend the AirDrop restriction, which has begun to activate in China, to the whole worldas it turned out bloomberg. And the fact is that actually the ability to give users only 10 minutes to share files between any person who also has this option activated goes far beyond preventing a protest campaign against the current Chinese government.

It is also a function that can offer the user additional privacy and security, as it may prevent other people from sharing obscene content with third-party iPhones that are less than 20 meters away. Meanwhile, 10 minutes is enough to, for example, share a file via AirDrop between two people who, for some reason, are not saved in contacts.

AirDrop, mind you, is not the only feature restricted in China. At the request of the government, Apple has also removed the Taiwanese flag emoji from devices sold in the country. In Japan, for example, the company keeps the camera shutter sound even when the device is silent to avoid disturbance and to let any user know they are being photographed. In some European countries, Apple also limits the maximum volume level.