Several police departments across the country are warning parents about a new iPhone feature that is turned on by default. Apple's iOS 17 update automatically activates the "NameDrop" feature, which allows users to share contact information when their phones are close to each other.

Officials in the Massachuttes cities of Dighton and Andover Massaschuttes posted nearly identical messages on Facebook warning parents about the new feature and providing instructions on how to turn it off.

The Henry County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee also posted a similar warning.

"BEWARE! If you have an iPhone and have done the recent iOS 17 update. They have set a new feature called NameDrop to default ON. This allows the sharing of contact info just by bringing your phones close together. To shut this off go to Settings, General, AirDrop, Bringing Devices Together. Change to OFF," the sheriff's office wrote.

However, other police officials say there is nothing to worry about. The police department in Bangor, Maine, responded to concerns about the new feature in a lengthy Facebook post, explaining how the NameDrop feature is completely safe.

"NameDrop doesn't automatically share all your information with other iPhone users. Nope. I know you read about it this weekend on the page of a trusted Facebook source. Some folks panicked. NameDrop offers you the opportunity to share information with other iPhone users," the department wrote.

"Oh, you also have to approve the share by hitting a button on your phone. You'll be prompted to do so before any share occurs," the post continued.

Chester Wisniewski, a digital security specialist at Sophos, told the Washington Post that the warnings from police were "hysteria" and "nonsense."

Despite the claims that the feature is safe and it is nearly impossible for somebody to steal your contact information without your consent, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office suggested that not everybody understands how their phones work.

"And yes, we know that it allows you to share it and you can refuse but many people do not check their settings and realize how their phone works. This particular setting defaults to on rather than have you opt-in," the department said.

WRAW Newsroom