Woman spots a guy at a coffee shop and decides her friend needs his number. So she and another friend track down his name through AirDrop

A woman went viral on TikTok after describing how she and a friend used AirDrop to figure out the name of a stranger at a coffee shop, then sent him a contact card for another friend who thought he was cute.

The creator, who posts under the username @angiepantuosco and goes by Angie, has 17.6K followers and 3.6M likes on the platform. Her account bio describes her content as “gym stuff | story times.”

In the video, Angie said she was at a coffee shop with her friends Rose and Katie when a man walked in. She said he was “wearing a funny shirt and he has a mustache.” She thought he seemed like Rose’s type but did not say anything out loud.

Friends try to find the stranger’s name using an Instagram search before switching to AirDrop

Angie said Rose noticed the man on her own and said, “that guy is like super cute.” Angie replied, “I knew you were gonna say that.” The group then decided to try to find out his name.

They noticed the man’s bag had initials on it, and the first letter of his first name was an “E.” Angie said she went to the coffee shop’s Instagram page and searched common boy names starting with E, including “Ethan” and “Evan.” She said the search turned up “absolutely nothing.”

Rose left the coffee shop for other plans, but Angie and Katie continued trying to identify the man. Angie said they did not want to approach him directly and say a friend thought he was cute, calling that option “boring.” She said, “we need a story” and “we would do anything for the bit.” 

Coffee shops have become the backdrop for other unexpected encounters between strangers, including one woman who says she discovered her boyfriend’s secret wife at a coffee shop.

Angie said she noticed the man on his phone and decided to try AirDrop. She opened her photos, selected a random image, and pressed AirDrop to see the names of nearby iPhones. She said she found a name starting with E: “Elijah.” She said she and Katie were “freaking out” after learning the name.

Angie then searched “Elijah” on the coffee shop’s Instagram page, but said the search again returned “nothing. No hits.” She said the lack of results felt “so boring” after coming that far. According to Angie, Katie then suggested going a step further by sending Rose’s contact card to the man through AirDrop. Angie called the idea “genius” and said it was “absolutely a stroke of genius.”

To prepare, Angie said she went into her phone’s contacts and made sure Rose’s first and last name were listed correctly. She also said she changed Rose’s contact photo to a picture from her Instagram where “she just looks cute.” Once the contact was ready, Angie said, “it’s showtime. Like, it’s game time.”

The video includes a clip of a phone screen showing the AirDrop interface, with the name “Rose Ruland” listed under “People.” On-screen text in the clip reads “beautiful stunning gorgeous.” The clip shows a hand tapping on the “Rose Ruland” contact and then on the name “Elijah” to send the file.

Angie described the man’s reaction after receiving the AirDrop, saying he “looking at his phone, he’s all confused and he shows his friend.” She said she and Katie were “freaking out” and “cracking up” because it was obvious they had sent it. She said, “I don’t even care. Like I can’t withhold this.” According to Angie, the man accepted the AirDrop.

Angie said the man looked over at them about five minutes later, and Katie asked him, “did you accept it?” He replied, “yeah.” Angie said he then walked over and spoke with them briefly before saying, “I’m gonna text her.” Digital tools connecting strangers have led to other viral moments, including a case where a delivery driver messaged a customer after asking for her phone number following a contactless delivery.

The video ends with a black screen showing a text message reportedly sent from Elijah to Rose. The message reads: “Hi Rose lol it’s that guy from [redacted]. My name’s Elijah btw.”

The video drew thousands of reactions, with many commenters saying they found the plan both funny and impressive. One commenter wrote, “This is wildly impressive, a little scary and absolutely hilarious.”

Others related the story to their own experiences with AirDrop. One commenter shared, “My bf of 3 years airdropped me his number while I was on a date with someone else hahaha.”

Several viewers praised the effort Angie put into making Rose’s contact card appealing before sending it. One commenter wrote, “You taking the time to make her contact ID super cute before sending it… TRUE FRIEND AF! GIRLS GIRL.” Another simply commented, “okayyy matchmaker.”

Some commenters focused on the outcome of the plan. One wrote, “Little crazy but solid results.” Another added, “Omg you two are wonderful feiends for this.”