# Ever had a stranger AirDrop \[photo share\] something to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 22, 2020, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610 "2020-12-22T07:36:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/1 "2020-12-22T07:36:59Z")
Or vice versa. Or otherwise accidentally electronically shared something with someone? Once upon a time, before COVID-19 put an end to the career, I was a pilot flying short haul in New Zealand and the surrounding regions (Australia, Pacific Islands, etc). This one time, I was flying a domestic leg, approaching our descent point and had just started an approach brief using the aeronautical chart app on the iPad as a reference. “So we’re flying the Davey 5A into the ILS for Auckland, loaded in the box and I see you’ve checked it… ah, what’s this?” I was interrupted by the airdrop sound, and a picture. “Emily would like to share this file with you, accept, decline” (or whatever the words are.) Well, I had no idea who Emily was, but I couldn’t decline the picture. Thanks Em, a bit of a chuckle to break up the day. (Click for the full photo) [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/VI9JbLZmXOYQW-xE-dHA4WGc8gjMxM9i8KY6CmJBOhFncGDME2U8fHX1SvfWMzYhsU2zg62iIviyKo9kpkMkOI09cy3VNx9fUpiNYqWBDuJ35qP7snDtLAEb1LBwEtxdQQKBrljXgZk=w600-h315-p-k "New item by Jonathan Skogstad") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/qU72V6TWqzbYayVX9) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/2 "2020-12-22T11:17:41Z")
My sister has her cell phone paired to her car. On one occasion when I was visiting her, I borrowed her car for an errand. When I returned, she was inside her house on her cell phone talking to a friend of hers. As I pulled her car into the garage, her phone automatically connected with her car, meaning I had involuntarily hijacked her conversation. So suddenly instead of my music, I was listening to her friend explaining something or other; it took me a second to figure it all out, and I finally had to interrupt her friend and explain who I was and what had just happened. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/3 "2020-12-22T15:27:13Z")
I changed my cell phone number a few months ago and since have received two WhatsApp messages from unknown numbers, one saying “Hey, when will you be at work next week? 😀”, the other “Hey, here’s my new number: xxxx-xxxxxxxx. 😀”. I first assumed that I’ve “inherited” a number that had been active before and just responded with “Sorry, you got the wrong number”. But I got suspicious about both profile pics from these numbers showing attractive young women and suspected some kind of scam. But they both never contacted me again. Maybe it was a ploy to test if my cell number is active, but I also never got any other spam later. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/4 "2020-12-22T16:22:40Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > Well, I had no idea who Emily was, but I couldn’t decline the picture. Thanks Em, a bit of a chuckle to break up the day. (Click for the full photo) So which one of those is Emily? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/5 "2020-12-22T16:30:06Z")
Cute. I leave my work iPad in “Receive off” mode unless I’m specifically exchanging stuff w my flying partner. Which we seldom do. Whoever Emily was, she has a cute sense of what’s cute, but random stuff arriving on my device is not my idea of a good idea. Harrumph! But that is a nice pic of alpacas. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/6 "2020-12-22T21:49:22Z")
I have had it happen to me a few times in airports while I am waiting at a gate. I guess people figure that’s a good time to find a captive audience. If I had gotten that alpaca picture, I would have accepted it too! ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/7 "2020-12-22T22:51:46Z")
I completely misinterpreted this thread, thinking of how at Woodstock a helicopter dropped ears of raw corn to the starving masses. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/8 "2020-12-22T23:45:05Z")
I’ve had my current phone number for about 15 years. For the first couple of years, I got personal messages sent to the previous user of the number. I still get spam messages on it addressed to Gloria. I’ve been trying to find her to give her the messages for years and years. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/9 "2020-12-22T23:57:13Z")
“Airdropped”? ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/10 "2020-12-23T00:00:07Z")
“Google”? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/11 "2020-12-23T00:09:52Z")
I gather you’re talking about AirDrop, then, not an airdrop. If it had been capitalised in the OP and other posts, I would have recognised it as the name of something I’d never heard of, and might have looked it up, instead of wondering what airdrops had to do with a picture of camelids. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/12 "2020-12-23T00:34:02Z")
I was part of a group hike in the late 1980’s. The organizers hired a pilot to drop off some beer, steaks, and eggs etc. at a cabin. I didn’t meet the pilot. I think he was a crop duster. I heard there was a landing strip a few miles from the cabin. I assume he used an ATV or maybe a 4WD for the last leg of the trip. That stocked cabin was a very welcome sight after a three day hike. I remember it was pretty rugged ground. I was in a lot better shape back then. Nothing like a cold beer out in the middle of nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/13 "2020-12-23T02:33:03Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > I gather you’re talking about AirDrop, then, not an airdrop. If it had been capitalised in the OP and other posts, I would have recognised it as the name of something I’d never heard of, and might have looked it up, instead of wondering what airdrops had to do with a picture of camelids. Mea culpa for the thread title. I would’ve thought the first line of the post itself would’ve provided further context though. > [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > Or vice versa. Or otherwise accidentally electronically shared something with someone? Airdrop probably makes for a more interesting thread, feel free to run with that interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/14 "2020-12-23T05:45:37Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I completely misinterpreted this thread, thinking of how at Woodstock a helicopter dropped ears of raw corn to the starving masses. Same here. Especially since the OP mentioned flying a plane. I had no idea there was software called airdrop. I’m not a Mac/Apple user. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/15 "2020-12-23T06:12:21Z")
I am a Mac/Apple user and I still assumed something along the lines of the Berlin airdrop, which was actually an airlift. I sometimes want to AirDrop something to my husband and I’m amazed how many other people I see who have this option turned on. Same as people who want to offer their phones as personal hotspots. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/16 "2020-12-23T07:20:40Z")
**Moderator Note** Thread title edited to (hopefully) more clearly indicate the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/17 "2020-12-23T07:20:53Z")
I’ve asked a Mod to change the title and I see it has been done. For those reading post mod, the original title had “airdrop” with no Apple style capitalisation. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/18 "2020-12-23T07:21:13Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Thread title edited to (hopefully) more clearly indicate the topic. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/19 "2020-12-23T15:55:49Z")
What a cool photo! I have often been annoyed by notifications like that coming in at the wrong time, stealing focus from the app while I am involved in some critical activity. My wife and I have been playing as a piano/bass combo at church for many years. All of our music is on our iPads, and I have a neat Bluetooth pedal that changes pages for me as I play. In a typical service, there are 8 to 10 songs in our playlist, if you count all of the “regulars” like the introit and the offering song. From time to time we have been right in the middle of a song when someone’s text message … or AirDrop… showed up on the screen, covering the music and stealing focus. I have to skip a couple of measures as I tap on whatever annoyance needs to be dismissed, then find where I was. That is certainly not a feature. I figured out how to turn all of that stuff off soon after the first few occurrences. Now, of all of the activities more time-sensitive than following sheet music, flying an aircraft would certainly be near the top of _that_ list. I hope your flight software doesn’t pop up a random “Please rate this app” notification every once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610/20 "2020-12-23T19:14:18Z")
Thank you. I didn’t open the thread, but I was wondering how many people have access to planes to drop goods on you in your back yard, which has not happened to me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-a-stranger-airdrop-photo-share-something-to-you/928610.md?page=2)