Discover what the options do

When should you keep Airdrop open to everyone and when is it best to go contacts only?

Make changes within Settings

You can also make changes to Airdrop by opening the Settings app and going to General>airdrop. The same three options will appear on screen.

Receiving off

If you don’t want anyone to be able to discover your device when you’re out and about, then ensure receiving is off. You’ll never get a request if you do.

Contacts Only

If you’re set to Contacts Only, then people you know can send you stuff via Airdrop but both devices must be signed into icloud and their Apple ID must be in your Contacts app.

Everyone

Select ‘Everyone’ and it won’t matter if the person’s Apple ID is not in your contacts. Anyone will be able to see you are around and send items to you for acceptance.