If AirDrop has one flaw, it's that it's not particularly easy to use with strangers. Apple has changed how this side of AirDrop works over the years. For the longest time, you had two AirDrop settings: "Contacts Only," which only lets your saved contacts find your device for AirDropping files, and "Everyone," which leaves your AirDrop open to anyone with an iPhone to send you stuff. This was convenient when you needed to share files with strangers, but inconvenient if you left it on: Anyone with an iPhone could see your iPhone and send you anything—like, say, a bomb threat while on an airplane. Not good.
iOS 26.2, Apple's newest iPhone update at the time of this writing, introduces a solution—AirDrop codes. This feature forces anyone not saved in your contacts who wants to share something with you via AirDrop to ask for a one-time code first. Once you share that code, that user is temporarily saved on your iPhone for 30 days, allowing you to AirDrop repeatedly without issue. After those 30 days are up, the user leaves your iPhone, and you don't need to worry about pruning your Contacts app down the line. (This same functionality also applies to AirDrop on iPadOS 26.2 and macOS 26.2.)
How to AirDrop with strangers using AirDrop codes
On your end, you see the request, with a "Continue" option: Once you tap it, you'll see the AirDrop code on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. You can tell the code to the sender, who can enter it on their device. If successful, the file will be shared like any other AirDrop interaction.
As stated above, this allows you to AirDrop with this contact for 30 days without needing to bother with another AirDrop code. But if you're done sharing with the stranger for good, you can remove their temporary contact early. Head to the Contacts app, hit the back button in the top left if applicable to head to Lists, then choose Other Known. Here, you'll see any temporary contacts generated from previous AirDrop sessions, which you can delete ahead of that 30 day deadline. Otherwise, your device will take care of it once that timeframe has elapsed.
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