Apple's Global Censorship of AirDrop: A Two-Year Scrutiny of Lost User Control

In November 2022, Apple altered the AirDrop feature on iPhones, initially in China and later globally, by replacing the 'Everyone' receiving mode with 'Everyone for 10 Minutes.' This change was reportedly made at the request of the Chinese government to limit decentralized communication among protesters. While Apple explained the global rollout as a measure to prevent spam, the move has been criticized for reducing user control and censoring a tool used for anonymous file sharing. Despite controversy, the altered AirDrop remains the norm two years later.