Bluetooth, AirDrop and such file-sharing services are crucial tools in China, where the so-called Great Firewall has resulted in one of the mostly tightly-controlled internet regimes. In recent years, anti-government protesters have often turned to AirDrop to organise and share their political demands. For instance, some activists were sharing anti-Xi Jinping posters using this tool on the Shanghai subway last October - just as the Chinese president was awaiting a historic third term as the country’s leader.
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Apple has repeatedly given in to Chinese government’s invasive policies, despite all their marketing on “privacy”; because China is a huge market for them. As much as I hate google for most of their practices, they have the basic decency to volunteeringly leave China when their regulations is against the company value.
Yes, and don’t forget that Apple still depends on Chinese factories to assemble its iPhone devices.
I doubt they will. They already added a 10 minute limit in airdrop for the “receive from everyone” setting (China first, now worldwide). From a security perspective it’s a good change but it does block the usefulness of airdrop as a tool for mass messaging.
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