She told the BBC:
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“I had Airdrop switched on because I had been using it previously to send photos to another iPhone user – and a picture appeared on the screen of a man’s penis, which I was quite shocked by.”
When set to the “Everyone” setting, everyone around a person can indeed send them files, including vulgar images, opening the door to the type of harassment experienced by Crighton-Smith.
I felt violated, it was a very unpleasant thing to have forced upon my screen. But she anxious that someone else more vulnerable, like a child, could have received the photo. “To block receiving files from complete strangers, iPhone users would be wise to change their AirDrop settings to receive from no one or just those people listed in the Contacts list”.
‘What’s the next stage from sending a naked picture to a stranger? Crighton-Smith reported the incident to the police and told the BBC that she was concerned about what the man could do next.
They have investigated the incident but claim that because Miss Crighton-Smith did not “accept” the image there was no technological evidence to move forward with. That was all concerning me’. Police say they have investigated the matter.
Murray said: “Receiving an indecent image from someone you don’t know must be very distressing and something we would take very seriously”.
“If someone sends you an abhorrent image you can’t unsee it. Much as it may upset you our advice is to save it, and then contact the police”.
“We have a dedicated Cyber Crime Unit who can analyse mobile phones and track data transfers back to suspects’ devices”, she said in a statement provided to Mashable.
A spokesman for Apple declined to comment.
AirDrop works over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, creating a short-range connection to other iDevices for the objective of sharing documents or media. It’s supported by devices from the iPhone 5 onwards. The default setting is “Contacts Only”, which means only people whose numbers are saved on your phone will be able to send items.
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There’s no direct equivalent to AirDrop in out-of-the-box Android smartphones but similar functionality can be installed through third-party apps, according to Munro.
