Grim new trend sees men sending penis pictures to women on public transport using AirDrop
It leaves women angry, confused and disgusted.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Smartphones have led to a new way for men to flash women: by sending pictures of their genitals to unsuspecting women via the iPhone’s AirDrop function.
In a grim new trend seen on the New York subway, men are taking advantage of women whose phone settings allow them to receive unsolicited photos from strangers.
The trend was actually first spotted in London in 2015 but is currently being seen in New York.
Last month, 28-year-old Britta Carlson was victim to the trend: “It was just a huge close-up picture of a disgusting penis,” she told the NY Post.
The message she received was entitled “Straw” and was sent anonymously.
“It really felt like someone had actually just flashed me,” she added.
There are three receiving options on AirDrop, which is only available on iPhone: a user can either set their phone to be able to receive files from everyone, just their contacts or no one.
Often people forget they’ve left their AirDrop on, which leaves them vulnerable to strangers sharing images.
For AirDrop to work, you have to be within Bluetooth range, which is approximately 100 metres.
The function was introduced to allow users to easily exchange files and documents without using any of their data allowance.
As it enables the sender to remain anonymous, it is thought that AirDrop is being used by sex exhibitionists.
And the victims are unsurprisingly left feeling disgusted, angry and confused.
“I wanted to punch him in the mouth for carelessly buckshotting genitalia to phones that could potentially be owned by children,” said 35-year-old Frankie Navisch, who received an explicit picture just after stepping off a train.
“Was he looking for interaction, or is all he wanted was someone to look at his mini-monstrosity?” she asked.
It’s a disturbing new trend that will remind us all to reassess our privacy settings.
“In the past, flashers would have to go out in public in a trench coat and risk getting arrested,” said Brad Salzman, a sex-addiction therapist. “Now... their minds can run wild.”
Apple declined to comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments