Snippet: Apple Limits AirDrop in China After Its Use in Protests ☇

Jess Weatherbed for The Verge:

Apple has placed time restrictions on AirDrop wireless file-sharing across iPhones in China after the feature was used by protesters to share images opposing the Chinese government, Bloomberg reports.

The “Everyone” option in Airdrop is now limited to a ten-minute window for users in China. After the ten minutes have passed, AirDrop’s device-to-device sharing will switch back to “Contacts Only,” making it harder to distribute content to strangers en masse. These new time restrictions have been introduced by Apple just weeks after the service was used to spread posters opposing president Xi Jinping.

I have conflicting feelings about this change—this is one of those instances where Apple is kowtowing to the Chinese government, but also seems like a feature change I’d enjoy. How about having the following choices for everyone: Receiving Off, Contacts Only, Everyone for 10 Minutes, and Everyone? Apple says it will be will be made available to global users ‘in the coming year,’ but why not roll it out all at once?