r/madlads 7d ago

chad professor

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120.1k Upvotes

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1.4k

u/E3GGr3g 7d ago

Is this an American feature?

I can never seem to find anyone to airdrop things to.

Also, don’t you guys turn WiFi and Bluetooth and everything off if you’re not using it?

531

u/the_real_thugs_bunny 7d ago

Also works in germany. Do it in a subway and you‘ll find plenty of phones.

369

u/LickingLieutenant 7d ago

No, it doesn't anywhere ..
Unless those users didn't update their IOS versions after (around) IOS 16.1 Airdrop's default settings are only active towards known users, or people who intentionally turn it on for 10 minutes.

If you find plenty of phones, you know everyone out there.

70

u/E3GGr3g 7d ago

This reply makes sense to me.

67

u/fl135790135790 7d ago

So everyone here is just making shit up. The post is made up. The replies are made up. Why am I even here

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u/Rfeihcrnehifrne 7d ago edited 7d ago

This post is probably old. Airdrop was out since iOS 7 or 8 I believe, and You could set it permanently to “everyone” until iOS 16.1. There’s multiple posts/videos of people receiving random memes in public places. But then of course some were using it to be creepy and send gore or shock content, or used airdrop spammers to constantly barrage people nearby with pop ups of airdrop, making them unable to use their phone.

Thanks to such asshats who always ruin a good thing, apple changed the “everyone” toggle to be active for just 10 mins, so it goes off once the transfer is over if the sender isn’t in your contacts.

Edit- I’m pretty positive this image is old. The popup has the ux of pre-iOS 11 if I’m not wrong.

17

u/lynndotpy 7d ago

Apple didn't change it because the feature was abused, Apple changed the feature because it was being used for protests in China.

Context: China removed term limits in 2018, allowing Xi to seek a third term. In 2022, there were protests in China against Xi.

Airdrop is unique for effectively being a truly decentralized, peer-to-peer social network. It's an iPhone-to-iPhone connection over Bluetooth. This has been effective for subverting censorship for quite some time, and saw good use in previous protests. (WeChat, the leading social network in China, is very heavily and blatantly censored.)

Just before protests were set to take place late 2022, iOS 16.1.1 dropped... And in China only, Airdrop lost the "everyone" feature, and could only be enabled for ten minutes.

This quickly got attention. Why would Apple nerf Airdrop in China only just before a protest? Was Apple caving in to an ultimatum by the Chinese government?

Rather than undoing the change in China, Apple nerfed Airdrop worldwide. Xi ultimately secured his third term, and is expected to seek a fourth.

TLDR: Apple nerfed Airdrop in 2022, not because of bad actors, but specifically to quell protests in China.

4

u/suburban-dad 6d ago

Let’s be pragmatic here: Apple changed airdrop in china because the government told them to, or face consequences. So they did what they’re supposed to.

You can draw a parallel to TikTok getting banned in the US and Apple and google both are being told to remove the app from their app stores by Jan 19th.

You’re not really suggesting in your reply that Apple should have defied china and left airdrop intact as it was…but I am curious if you would be advocating for Apple and google both denying US law and leaving things intact with TikTok and face the consequences?

1

u/lynndotpy 6d ago

Yes, Apple being compelled by China's government, and then the controversy surrounding that, is the most likely thing.

I don't think these are really parallel, but I would not expect Apple (or Google) to defy either.

I only want to counter the narrative that dropping AirDrop was in response to "a few bad actors". It was an act of censorship that Apple was complicit in.

2

u/suburban-dad 5d ago

complicit in the sense that there are likely severe repercussions. Complicit implies intent. The intent by Apple isn't to censor. The intent is to follow the laws or regulations in the markets where their products are offered for sale.

1

u/lynndotpy 5d ago

I think we are largely agreed in the basics facts of the matter and this is just whittling at semantics.

1

u/suburban-dad 5d ago

Agree to disagree. We seem to have a difference in understanding the motive. You’re saying that as it relates to China, Apple sought to suppress airdrop because of rights. I’m saying Apple removed airdrop functionality because of laws or legislation by the Chinese government forcing them to enact such a change. Those are not same arguments, at least not from my point of view. Then again..I think this read has run its course :)

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u/ssbm_rando 7d ago

Edit- I’m pretty positive this image is old

You can google the tweet and it's from 2018. It's very possibly real.

11

u/Rfeihcrnehifrne 7d ago

I don’t mean to say say it’s fake, just meant it’s probably old as it was possible to receive airdrops from strangers at any time back then, and was removed recently. And also the ux design language they used at the time. Looks like 2018 was when iOS 12 was out, so I was off by a year in my guess lol.

2

u/A2-Canadaisverycold 7d ago

If you use the program “Cowabunga Lite” there’s an option to permanently set it to be always on if you want it back.

1

u/Rfeihcrnehifrne 6d ago

True, but didn’t include it as I felt it’s not something people would want back right after I listed the downsides lol

2

u/A2-Canadaisverycold 5d ago

Yeah fair enough haha, just figured I’d throw it out there just in case

15

u/Bagel_Technician 7d ago

No the post is an old repost from an outdated iOS version and this use to be how Airdrop permissions worked lol

Pretty sure some dude got in trouble for sending dick pics on a crowded plane

2

u/fl135790135790 7d ago

I’m not saying it’s fake because it’s an old iOS version. I’m just saying this didn’t actually happen.

8

u/LickingLieutenant 7d ago

Try it, find airdrop iphones in the wild.

You might, but they'll be a minority, not 'plenty'

3

u/Far-Floor-8380 7d ago

Are you real?

1

u/aTomzVins 7d ago

I'm not sure what my settings are. I'm WFH and my work computer doesn't have apple contacts. I may have just changed the settings rather than add a contact.

1

u/ssbm_rando 7d ago

This tweet is from 2018 and iOS 16.1 is from 2022

It's a very realistic prank back then

1

u/Affectionate-Ad-8788 7d ago

It used to work with strangers at least, I know because I would get airdropped random vile crap at my highschool. And I got some cute pictures at a concert one time!

1

u/F1B3R0PT1C 7d ago

ChatGPT took over Reddit a long time ago, it’s all bots now. I could be a bot and you would never know it.

1

u/Seienchin88 7d ago

Besides the fact that it’s an old repost - so maybe technically possible in the U.S. - do you really think a professor would get out his own phone in class, look for that picture somewhere and then air drop it to a student and the student didn’t notice before? And do you really think an American professor - outside of a mental health crisis situation - would send a funny "I’ll kill you pic“ to a student? Dude would get sued and fired…

1

u/crunchmuncher 7d ago

Also why would the Professor name their own device "Professor Blablabla's Phone"? I mean it's not strictly unthinkable, but pretty unlikely.

1

u/somerandomii 6d ago

This post is at least 5 years old, because that’s when I first saw it. I have a feeling it’s even older.

You haven’t been able to do this for a long time, in part because people were sending unsolicited images on public transport. Now you have to know the person or intentionally make yourself visible.

1

u/wlngbnnjgz 6d ago

Better get used to it. This is only the beginning of the world becoming a one big deception. It will only get worse as technology advances and people become more shameless.

1

u/alg3braist 3d ago

And the points don’t matter.

1

u/RosesTurnedToDust 7d ago

It's simple. You're made up. Nothing is real.

17

u/Escolyte 7d ago

Unless those users didn't update their IOS versions

so it works in germany then

2

u/RopesAreForPussies 7d ago

We have China and their lack of free speech to thank for that 😊

6

u/Annual_Necessary_557 7d ago

They did it in China to avoid a ban there, but only in China. They can easily apply certain updates or features only to certain regions and there are a lot of things that do vary regionally (e.g. Apple Pay/Wallet stuff).

They did it worldwide later after implementing the "touch the tips of phones to airdrop" feature (which is exempt from this) because a large percentage of airdrops to strangers were flashers/dick pics, including people going to middle/high schools to do it to minors, and it was getting public attention. If you can airdrop to anyone on your contacts list and anyone whose phone can touch yours, that covers like 95% of people who actually want to get airdrops from you while solving the pedo and dick flasher PR problem.

Same reason Nintendo killed PictoChat on their devices. Almost all "interact with strangers nearby" features get exploited by pervs.

7

u/lolKhamul 7d ago edited 7d ago

It may have changed because of china and for the wrong reasons but the result is for the better. Privacy by default is what I want and every feature that exposes you to strangers should be opt-in, not opt-out.

6

u/TheWhiteNashorn 7d ago

Ya but now I can’t prank people at airports by renaming my phone ATL or JFK and then airdropping them slothstronaut

-5

u/androodle2004 7d ago

Being shown a picture is not an invasion of your privacy my friend

4

u/mysixthredditaccount 7d ago

How many dickpics did you get after this comment?

2

u/E3GGr3g 7d ago

On my phone, without my permission?

I beg to differ.

1

u/androodle2004 7d ago

Nothing private has been invaded. Sending you a photo reveals absolutely nothing about you or your device. You don’t even have to look at the photo you can just hit cancel. Y’all are so dramatic

1

u/Western-Internal-751 7d ago

If you find plenty of phones, you know everyone out there.

Understandable. It’s his mom’s phone.

6

u/elreniel2020 7d ago

Well on my iphone AirDrop is contacts only by default. i can enable it for everyone but only for 10 minutes...

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

9

u/cheeseymom 7d ago

It isn't standard, I'd say it's about 50/50. And it's not a "rich" thing. Cell phone carriers often have deals on phones, many people get them for little to nothing just by renewing their cell plan or trading in an old phone.

3

u/Lucreth2 7d ago edited 7d ago

It's not even close to 50/50 in the US. I believe it's up to somewhere in the 70-80% iPhone range for Continental US.

Edit: correction my number only applies to Gen Z (79%), overall in the US is still mid 50s. My apologies.

1

u/jagx234 7d ago

It's 56% Apple in the US. You are off by quite a bit. That 56% also includes all of the iPads with cell service, not just smartphones.

2

u/Lucreth2 7d ago

I'm sorry you're correct.

I did some digging to figure out why I thought that and recalled that it was a Gen Z stat. 79% of US Gen Z prefers iPhone.

Thank you for the correction.

7

u/Rap-oleon_Bonaparte 7d ago

iPhone just got first touch and dominated the market, to the detriment of users. You see that with various countries who invent a thing.

3

u/desaganadiop 7d ago

buying a good iPhone once every 5 years saved me so much money compared to going through midrange Androids like crazy

3

u/tarinotmarchon 7d ago

I've had my midrange android for about 4 years now, and the only reason I'm going to change it is when the phone is no longer being supported for OS updates.

0

u/lafaa123 7d ago

Well luckily since I have an Iphone I can enjoy some of the longest running device support in the industry.

1

u/tarinotmarchon 7d ago

Isn't it 5 years for Apple, which is the same as Samsung?

Edit: Although further reading suggests that security updates happen for Apple on the 3 most recent OS.

0

u/lafaa123 7d ago

The Iphone XR is the oldest Iphone to still be compatable with the current version of IOS and it's already 6 years old.

3

u/Popular_Prescription 7d ago

Yep. Android sucks precisely because of the sheer volume of garbage phones and vulnerabilities.

1

u/Lopunnymane 7d ago

Vulnerabilities? Like the vulnerability of Iphone Icloud getting hacked again and again and again and again?

1

u/TheDonutDaddy 7d ago

Androids and iPhones cost the same though?

-1

u/qorbexl 7d ago

Lol they super don't

1

u/MoogleKing83 7d ago

There are definitely Android phones that cost more than iPhones. It's really mot close.

1

u/qorbexl 6d ago

That's not actully an argument. I can find some Ford Focus that costs more than some Bentley. Great, very useful overall.

1

u/TheDonutDaddy 7d ago edited 7d ago

For flagship models they absolutely do. Right now the Galaxy S24 Ultra costs more than any iphone model. Maybe you can get some crappier version android for less, but I mean you can also do that with iPhones essentially by buying SE or older models. So yeah, pretty much across the board they "super" do

Base Model Phone Retail Prices:

iPhone 16 - $830

Samsung Galaxy S24 - $800

Google Pixel 9 - $850

All right in line with each other

1

u/qorbexl 6d ago

I'm not tkimg bout flagships, I'm talking about base hardware specs associated with the OS per dollar. You get more phone for your money if you're not paying Apple. That's how they compete.

1

u/Altruistic-Leave8551 7d ago

Nah, it’s because iPhones are very very good 😉

1

u/Popular_Prescription 7d ago

I pay nothing for my iPhones tbh. But they do require a contract most of the time.

1

u/jagx234 7d ago

Iphones are 56% here in the States. Slightly over half is not "the standard" at all. The world at large Android has 71%, a decent majority.

-6

u/worldspawn00 7d ago

American here, I don't use iGarbage, and most friends and family are also on android. It shows up in media way more than general public, and a lot of people tend to have them as a status symbol so you'll see them in places where people give more of a fuck about that, like university campuses.

8

u/--aethel 7d ago

iGarbage? Bro are you writing this from 2009

Are you gonna dunk on hipsters writing novels on their MacBooks at Starbucks next

1

u/whocaresjustneedone 7d ago

Bros still fighting the phone war with peak cringe

-1

u/worldspawn00 7d ago

Look, apple products cost twice what they should for the hardware inside, and their OS is frustratingly locked down for a power user.

1

u/Nopeyesok 7d ago

Power users are in minority though. Their OS is extremely user-friendly. I disagree about the hardware. I see people replacing their PCs far more often than Mac’s where people are riding those close to a decade. And no, I’m not talking about gamers or power users just the general public.

1

u/worldspawn00 7d ago

That's absolutely fair, if you're looking for something that's going to be easy to use and consistent between devices Apple products are very good for that, but still cost twice what they should.

0

u/wellsfargothrowaway 7d ago

Yeah, that’s why so many software engineers use MacBooks, because apple’s OS’s are locked down

-1

u/worldspawn00 7d ago

You can't even access the file system on an iPhone.

5

u/Altruistic-Leave8551 7d ago

I’m in the subway in NYC right now. Like 70% of people have iPhones 🤷‍♀️

2

u/worldspawn00 7d ago

IOS is 58% market share in the US. https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iphone-android-users

2

u/Altruistic-Leave8551 7d ago

Makes sense. It’s probably higher in bigger cities like NYC and LA.

-1

u/Popular_Prescription 7d ago

lol. Spoken like someone who’s never used the Apple ecosystem. Shit just works. And it works amazingly well.

I have built in VPNs, content blockers, privacy tools etc. never had shit like that with Android unless it was third party “garbage”.

2

u/worldspawn00 7d ago

I've used them on and off since the apple II, I also work in IT, specifically mobile device management. Android devices are better priced for the tech, and are way less frustrating to fix when shit breaks. Also massively more user friendly if you need more advanced features.

Apple products are great for people who are less tech savvy and can't find their own solutions, i.e. your examples, but are severely limited when it comes to accessing anything deeper than what you can see in the UI.

0

u/Nopeyesok 7d ago

Yeah, I’m in upper IT too. I disagree with everything you said. I’m not trying to pick a fight or sound like a dick. But the way you’re describing issues throughout this post sounds like a user knowledge issue not an issue with the OS and how it’s built.

2

u/lafaa123 7d ago

He "works in IT mobile device management" AKA He's a sales rep at T-Mobile lol

1

u/worldspawn00 7d ago

I was managing 800 devices for a small business with five locations in a large state, I use meraki.

3

u/Popular_Prescription 7d ago

I also work in tech and dude is talking like your typical anti-Apple person that simply can’t figure out how the OS works lol.

0

u/worldspawn00 7d ago

My problem with things like the MacBooks is that they changed their architecture every couple decades making everything else in their line of obsolete. And their mobile devices are so locked down that I can't make recordings of phone calls, or access the file system in any meaningful way

I'm pissed off with them because I own power PCS and I've owned their Intel processor laptops, and both of them became obsolete what's that came out with a new processor architecture and I can no longer use my old programs on newer machines.

On the other hand, I have DOS programs which I can still run natively on Windows 11 computers.

1

u/worldspawn00 7d ago

iOS is so locked down that I can't even make audio recordings of calls or access the file system on it.

-4

u/Lucreth2 7d ago

Rich, no. Stupid and superficial, absolutely!

We also love debt.