With iOS 26.2, Apple introduces a convenient and secure way to use AirDrop with people who are not in your contacts. Thanks to the new ‘Manage known AirDrop contacts’ feature, you can temporarily share files with strangers without additional privacy risks and without opening AirDrop to everyone.
In this article we explain how this new AirDrop option works, what the benefits are, and how to use it wisely. This way you can safely share files via AirDrop and protect the connection with a one-time code.
Protect AirDrop with one-time code
Previously, you could only set AirDrop to ‘Contacts Only’, ‘Everyone for 10 minutes’, or ‘Receiving Off’. If you wanted to share something with someone outside your address book, you had to temporarily open AirDrop to everyone, which is undesirable for privacy and not always practical.
Manage Known AirDrop Contacts now lets you connect securely to someone outside your contact list using a unique, temporary code. This makes it possible to exchange files via AirDrop with this person for 30 days, without having to permanently place them between your contacts.
Part of Wi-Fi aware
Wi-Fi Aware on iPhone is a new wireless technology introduced with iOS 26.2 that allows devices to communicate directly and securely with each other over Wi-Fi, without the need for an Internet connection or Wi-Fi router.
The protocol enables devices to automatically recognize each other in the vicinity and establish a connection immediately. A peer-to-peer WiFi connection allows devices to communicate directly with each other, similar to AirDrop. This works without the intervention of a network or internet, and even if the devices do not use the same WiFi network.
Secure connection
Just like AirDrop, you can connect securely to other devices and exchange files and data instantly. Before you can do this, you must first enable the ‘be found’ feature and give permission, which will prevent you from receiving unsolicited files. You can control this from the AirDrop view when sharing a file or from the Control Panel.
Manage known AirDrop contacts
- Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad
- Navigate to ‘General’
- Select ‘AirDrop’
- Tap ‘Manage Known AirDrop Contacts’
Here you will see an overview of all the people with whom you are connected via a code. As soon as you want to end the collaboration, you can remove the relevant temporary contact person from the list
Privacy and security
Apple emphasizes privacy with this feature. No direct link to personal data is required: access is purely based on the temporary code, which minimizes the risk of misuse. Because access is only active for 30 days, it remains clear who has had temporary access. You can immediately remove unwanted contacts from the overview, so that you are no longer visible to that person.
Wi-Fi aware: open standard
Unlike Apple’s own closed AirDrop technology, Wi-Fi Aware is an open standard that is also supported by Android. AirDrop only allows you to transfer data and files between Apple devices, but Wi-Fi Aware is changing that. This makes it possible, for example, to exchange files between iPhones and Android devices.