It's acutely unsettling to receive an unsolicited photograph of a stranger’s genitals to your phone. It’s even more unsettling when it becomes such a regular occurrence that you’re no longer fazed.
I remember the first time I was cyber-flashed, as the offence has now been termed. I was on the bus on my way to work. The offender — which of my fellow passengers I’ll never know — attempted to AirDrop me 120 pictures, presumably all different angles of his penis, judging by the up-close preview that flashed on to my screen.
Of course I clicked decline immediately, but that didn’t stop my face flushing bright red. I sat frozen in my seat, suddenly aware of every male on the upper deck. Was it the old man smiling at his phone screen to my left? The chuckling teens on the back row? The builder sitting beside me? There were schoolchildren on that bus — had any of them received it too?
I’m not alone: thousands of women (and men) have told similar stories on social media over the past couple of years and reports of cyber-flashing are on course to double year-on-year, according to British Transport Police. They say 35 offences were recorded in the first half of 2019 but suggest that cases go “largely unreported”. With no way of tracking down the sender, the perpetrators get away scot-free.
Unfortunately, it’s getting easier for creeps like my bus harasser: last week, Apple announced that its new iOS 13 update would make it even easier to send AirDrops. Now, you’ll only have to point your phone at someone else’s to share photos, videos or files with them. “It’s going to lead to amazing new capabilities,” says Apple, but all I can think of are the horrifying ones.
The update means it’ll be simpler than ever for sex pests to intrude on strangers’ phones at gigs, in restaurants and on the Tube — and young people will be hit the hardest. Teens today use AirDrop to share homework and photos, and engage with celebrities. At this year’s Coachella, actor Donald Glover used AirDrop to give away trainers he created with Adidas to festivalgoers.
Tech companies such as Bumble are cracking down. The feminist dating app teamed up with officials in Texas last month to criminalise the sending of unsolicited nude images, and Facebook and Twitter have introduced reporting and blocking tools. AirDrop, meanwhile, appears to be a loophole that’s getting wider.
Apple’s response is to remind iPhone users to switch AirDrop to “contacts only”, but prevention shouldn’t be down to the targets, most of whom — like me — reassess their settings only after it’s too late.
A female researcher in Washington is currently working on an AI system that detects unwanted images on Twitter (and hopefully AirDrop soon) and deletes them before you see them. It’s a shame tech companies such as Apple haven’t thought to do the same.
