AirDrop Code Explained: How to Remove It Before 30 Days

Six digits just showed up on your AirDrop screen where you expected a simple Accept button. That's not a glitch: Apple's support documentation, updated last month, confirms that devices running iOS 26.2 or later now prompt for an AirDrop code, according to Apple Support.

The feature only applies to specific conditions, and Apple's page and third-party testing don't cover every detail the same way. Both devices need iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, or macOS 26.2 or later, and the code only appears when the other person's phone number or Apple Account email isn't already saved in your Contacts app, according to iDownloadBlog. If you've already entered a code with someone and don't want that connection sitting active for a month, check the software version on both devices, then head to Settings > General > AirDrop > Manage Known AirDrop Contacts to end it early.

Enter the code once, and the authorization lasts 30 days, after which both people can AirDrop to each other with no further verification, according to 9to5Mac and Apple Support. Here's what that code actually verifies, what Apple does with the connection afterward, and how to cut it short if you don't want it running for a month.

What is an AirDrop code?

iDownloadBlog's testing lays out the trigger conditions in more detail than Apple's own page: both devices on iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, or macOS 26.2 or later, and the recipient's number or Apple Account email missing from your Contacts app, per iDownloadBlog. The same report describes the standard Accept-only flow continuing to apply once that contact info is saved, though that's based on iDownloadBlog's own testing rather than a universal rule Apple spells out for every account or device setup.

In the workflow iDownloadBlog tested, the receiver first sets AirDrop visibility to Everyone for 10 Minutes, which triggers a "Use AirDrop Code" alert and a six-digit code on their screen. The sender types that code into their own AirDrop screen to start the transfer, per the same report. Before iOS 26.2, the same scenario only required the receiver to tap Accept on the incoming request; there was no code step at all.

Apple's documentation presents the prompt as part of the normal sharing flow, not as an account-compromise notice. If you didn't initiate or expect the transfer, the safer move is to cancel it rather than enter a code someone else is pushing at you, per Apple Support.

How the AirDrop Other Known list works for 30 days

Once the sender enters the code, Apple adds the other person to the Other Known list within Contacts for 30 days, according to Apple Support. During that window, both people show up as AirDrop options to each other with no code required, just a tap on Accept, per 9to5Mac and iDownloadBlog.

9to5Mac describes the result as "up to 30 days of ongoing AirDrop authorization" after a single code exchange, so one verification covers a month of transfers instead of requiring a repeat each time, per 9to5Mac.

Worth checking before assuming one entry equals one person: iDownloadBlog's testing found that the same individual's iPhone, iPad, and Mac each generated separate code verifications and appeared as three distinct entries in the Other Known list. That's one publication's test case, not a behavior Apple has confirmed applies universally, but it's a reasonable thing to check if someone sharing files with you owns more than one Apple device.

Apple places the entry in Other Known rather than describing it as a normal saved contact, which is a different category than the Contacts card you'd build manually.

How to remove an AirDrop connection before it expires

The 30-day window doesn't have to run its course. The most direct path, per iDownloadBlog:

1. Open Settings > General > AirDrop and tap Manage Known AirDrop Contacts.
2. Tap Other Known to see everyone verified through a one-time AirDrop code.
3. Select the person you want to disconnect from and tap Forget This Person.

iDownloadBlog also notes the same list is reachable from the Contacts or Phone app by tapping the back arrow in the top-left corner, but the Settings route is the clearest documented path.

Once you forget someone, sharing files with them again starts the code verification over, iDownloadBlog notes. Because entries can be tied to a specific device rather than a person, scan the Other Known list for duplicate names. If your device shows more than one entry for the same person, review each one individually.

Where AirDrop codes fit with other visibility settings

AirDrop codes don't replace the visibility settings already built into iOS. Apple's AirDrop settings still offer three choices: Receiving Off, Contacts Only, and Everyone for 10 Minutes, according to 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac describes the new code system as functioning like a fourth option, layered on top of Everyone for 10 Minutes rather than replacing it.

Since iOS 16.2, Everyone for 10 Minutes automatically reverts once the window closes, switching to Contacts Only if signed into an Apple Account, or Receiving Off if not, per Apple Support. The sources describe these as separate settings, but Apple's documentation doesn't explain in detail how changing visibility interacts with an existing Other Known entry. Don't assume the 10-minute visibility label tells you how long an authorization lasts; Apple separately says Other Known entries stick around for 30 days regardless.

What an AirDrop code does not prove

The code is a verification step, and it's worth being precise about what it covers and what it doesn't. In a 2024 post on A Few Thoughts on Cryptographic Engineering, cryptographer Matthew Green discussed privacy weaknesses in AirDrop's discovery protocol that TU Darmstadt researchers first disclosed to Apple in 2019 and detailed in a 2021 USENIX Security paper, including the possibility that hashed identifiers exchanged during AirDrop's discovery step could be logged and traced on a recipient's device. Green argued that PrivateDrop, a protocol the same researchers proposed, could address those weaknesses more thoroughly than Apple's approach at the time.

The supplied Apple support page doesn't explain whether the new code flow changes that earlier protocol. Treat a successful code verification as confirmation of the code-based AirDrop pairing itself, not as proof of the other person's identity or a guarantee of anonymity.

If a code prompt shows up unexpectedly, confirm both devices are running iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, or macOS 26.2 or later, since that's the condition tied to the feature. If you'd rather not leave an existing authorization active, open Settings > General > AirDrop > Manage Known AirDrop Contacts, tap Other Known, and select Forget This Person. If multiple entries appear for the same person, go through each one rather than assuming a single tap clears them all.