2 Simple Ways to Disable and Turn Off AirDrop

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Easily stop people from AirDropping you by disabling the feature

Co-authored by Naseem Speach and Rain Kengly

Last Updated: December 27, 2023 Tested

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• Using an iPhone or iPad
|
• Using a Mac
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• Expert Interview
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• Q&A

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Are you worried about other people sending unknown files through AirDrop? If your AirDrop is on, you may have it set to "Everyone" or "Contacts Only". You can easily disable this feature from your Control Center, so you don't have to worry about getting any unwanted photos. This wikiHow will show you how to turn off AirDrop on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Things You Should Know

• iPhone or iPad: In Control Center, tap and hold the Wi-Fi tile, then tap "AirDrop" → "Receiving Off."
• Mac: In Control Center, click AirDrop to turn it off.
• Alternatively on a Mac, open the Finder and click "AirDrop" → "Allow me to be discovered by" → "No One".

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using an iPhone or iPad

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1. 
   1
   Open the Control Center. On iPhone X or later, swipe down on the top-right corner of the screen. On iPhone 8 and earlier (and iPhone SE), swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

   • On an iPad with iOS 12 or later, swipe down from the top-right of the screen.
2. 
   2
   Tap and hold the network settings tile. This will be in the top-left corner. You can tap and hold any icon in the network settings tile; this will expand it.
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3. 
   3
   Tap and hold the AirDrop icon. You can find this below the Wi-Fi icon.
4. 
   4
   Tap Receiving Off. AirDrop will be turned off until you turn it on again.

   • You can also do this in Settings → General → AirDrop → Receiving Off.
   • When you want to transfer files again, you can turn AirDrop on again by tapping the icon in the Control Center.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using a Mac

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1. 
   1
   Open the Control Center. Click the toggle icon in the top-right corner of the menu bar. This will be between the search icon and date.
2. 
   2
   Click AirDrop. The icon will be blue if it's currently enabled. Clicking the icon again will disable AirDrop and turn the icon grey.

   • You can also disable AirDrop in the Finder. In the Finder sidebar, click AirDrop → Allow me to be discovered by → No One.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  How can I delete AirDrop?

  

  Community Answer

  To date, there is no way you can delete AirDrop, but you can turn it off by heading to Settings, then General, then clicking AirDrop. From there, click receiving off.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 17 Helpful 14
• Question

  How can I tell if I am sending air drop?

  

  Community Answer

  You can tell if you are sending an airdrop if you click on who you want to send it to. It will will say sending under the name.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 6 Helpful 11

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