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AirDrop requests are Gen Z’s way of passing notes on Apple devices – as Hong Kong protesters show
- Peer-to-peer communication technology lets users quickly share photos or videos with other Apple users, anonymously if desired, making it a must-have for teens
- Young Hong Kong protesters used it to bypass Chinese censors and get their message to visitors from China during a recent rally against extradition law changes
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AirDrop, which allows quick file transfer between Apple devices, was created for convenience: users can quickly share photos or videos with friends in the same room. It can also be fleetingly anonymous. You only need to have your settings switched on to receive files; you can change your device name to hide your identity.
The unregulated technology can be surprisingly intrusive – women have been harassed by AirDroppers who send obscene photos in public spaces – but also effective, as people in Hong Kong recently found out.
At a rally in the city’s Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood on July 7, protesters AirDropped e-leaflets, written in simplified Chinese, directly onto the iPhones of shoppers from China, explaining to them the potential dangers of proposed changes to extradition law which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives from the city to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong has no such arrangement, including mainland China.
What makes AirDrop the ideal communication tool in this case is that it bypasses Chinese censors; news of protests in Hong Kong against the extradition bill have been blocked on popular social media platforms in China such as Weibo, WeChat and Baidu.
In the United Stats, AirDrop has evolved into an established connective tool for Generation Z. Teenagers and young adults delight in using the feature to exchange funny images, videos or other information with individual strangers or large crowds.
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