Apple, Google, and Samsung copy a lot of software features from each other. Samsung copied Apple’s Contact Poster feature and named it Profile Card. Now, Google is reportedly trying to develop a feature that is similar to Apple’s NameDrop for contact sharing.
Android phones could get NameDrop-like feature for sharing contacts
The beta version (v25.44.32) of Google Play Services included strings that point to ‘Gesture Exchange,’ which refers to NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format). It contains another activity called ContactExchangeActivity, and it was discovered by Android Authority. With a more recent beta version (v25.46.31) of the app, the publication was able to activate Contact Exchange Activity to see how it looks.
As you can see in the screenshots above, when two people bring their phones together, Android’s NameDrop-like feature will initiate. A user can either share their contact information with the other person and receive the other person’s contact information, or just choose to receive the other person’s contact information without sharing their own.
Contact information can include a person’s name, phone number, email address, and a profile photo. When a person receives contact information from another person, they can call the number, send a message, or initiate a video call right away without saving that contact.
It isn’t clear if this contact sharing feature will also have a NameDrop-like fancy animation or when it could be released. The feature’s name is also unclear, as the final marketing name could be different from what we see in the code. Since the feature is being built as a part of Google Play Services, it will likely be available on all Android devices, including Galaxy phones.
