Make Sure You’re Getting the Most out of AirDrop with These Tricks
Credit: iDrop NewsAirDrop's direct connection to other devices makes it easy to share content quicker than ever. We typically use AirDrop to send photos, but AirDrop can also handle different types of content you may want to share with friends or acquaintances (or, for the adventurous, total strangers).
You can quickly enable AirDrop from the Control Panel of your device, and then inside of an app, use Apple's share button (which looks like a box with an arrow in it) to choose the device or contact to AirDrop the content to, and you're done!
But for such a simple feature, there's a lot people don't know about AirDrop. We've gathered some of the tricks that everyone who uses AirDrop should learn. Continue reading to make sure that you know about them all.
Restricting AirDrop
Let's start with something simple. Head to Settings, choose General, and then choose AirDrop. This will give you a quick option to choose who your AirDrop is open to – no one, Contacts Only, or Everyone. Or access these options from the connections section in Control Center.
Switching to Contacts Only is a nice way to prevent your device from getting unsolicited AirDrop photos or other content.
If AirDrop is set to Everyone, then anyone with an Apple device in range can send you pics. You can cancel them, but you have to see them first – which has led to some very annoying AirDrop pranks (or worse) over the years. You can stop any unwanted AirDrops with
Share Websites Instantly
It's surprising how many people use AirDrop but aren't aware of just what types of content you they send to other people. One great example is a website.
- Find the webpage that you want to share.
- Then tap the Share Sheet button on the bottom menu.
- Tap the AirDrop contact at the top of the sheet to send it.
- Don't see them? Make sure your friend has their iPhone unlocked and AirDrop turned on.
This is particularly useful when sharing sources,
recommending services, sharing a guide, or just sending the latest gossip. It's
useful in both personal and professional circles, so make sure you know how it
works.
Share Passwords Between Your Devices
AirDrop also has a passive feature that will
automatically share passwords, particularly Wi-Fi passwords, among your
devices. Turn AirDrop on, and make sure you are signed into the same iCloud
account for all your devices. When you enter a Wi-Fi password on one device, it
will be shared to your other devices as well. It's handy when accessing guest
Wi-Fi (please don't use Wi-Fi networks without a password).
Recommend Apps to Your Friends
Along with websites, you can also share apps with your friends over AirDrop! This makes it easy to quickly share games or services that you've discovered.
- Head to an app on your Home screen.
- 3D Touch the app icon or use a long press to open the options menu.
- This will pop open a couple of new actions, including one to share the app using AirDrop.
Add AirDrop to Your Mac Dock
AirDrop works on your Mac too, but it's especially effective if you set the AirDrop icon to your Dock for quick access. It's easy to do if you know how, but impossible if you don't know the trick.
- Start by opening your Finder window.
- Then find to the Go menu and select Go to Folder.
- This will pop up a new search bar on your Finder window.
- In this bar, paste: /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Applications/ and then hit enter.
- This will take you to the otherwise-difficult-to-find folder in Applications where AirDrop is located. Drag the AirDrop icon from the Finder menu down to your Dock and release. Now it's there!