Safety
What Strangers Can Send Over AirDrop
AirDrop, and the versions of it on other phones, lets any phone nearby send a picture to your kid's phone without knowing their number. It's mostly harmless, and every once in a while it's how an awful picture shows up.
How it actually works
It works over a connection between phones that are close together, not the internet, so whoever's sending it just has to be in the same room or on the same bus as your kid. They don't need a phone number, and that's what makes it so easy between friends and also what makes the bad stuff possible.
The one setting to change
If receiving is set to everyone, phones nearby can try to send your kid something. On iOS 26.2 and later a stranger needs a code from your kid first, but on an older iPhone a preview can still pop up whether your kid wanted it or not. Set it to contacts only and it's back to being a handy way to share with friends. It takes thirty seconds to change and it makes a big difference.
Why kids don't mention it
When a picture shows up out of nowhere, a kid feels like it happened to them, and their first thought is usually that they'll get in trouble for having it. Telling them ahead of time that it's never their fault is what gets them to tell you about the next one.
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