NFC tags are a simple, less invasive way to make your home a little smarter. Using near-field communication, each tag is a tiny sticker that can be placed anywhere and swiped with your smartphone or another NFC-enabled device to trigger them.
We have a full breakdown of NFC tags and what they can be used for below, showing the importance of these handy little chips.
NFC Tags Are Smart
As for what they can do, pretty much anything that can be programmed digitally.
Businesses are using them a lot for efficiency or customer interaction. Smart tables are a great example, where restaurants or casinos use these chips so customers can make payments. It makes things run smoothly at the roulette table but it doesn’t change the game. You’d still need to do your own research and learn how to play roulette. That’s what NFCs do in a nutshell – make things simpler so that you can be smarter with your time.
How To Use NFC Tags
The variability of the Android platform makes it ideal for use with NFCs since you have wider app accessibility. Programming NFC tags is easy when you know how. Let’s cover more use cases that really demonstrate what NFC tags are capable of.
First, they can take care of basic scheduling related to your phone. All modern smartphones are NFC compatible, so that’s how you’d be activating tags most of the time. A tag on your bedside table could set an alarm or one in your kitchen could set a timer for cooking. They can even automate text messages and other social media interactions.
If NFC tech sounds a lot like those chips in your bank card, that’s because it is. NFC is a subset of RFID tech, which is in your cards and many other things. This means you can program an NFC tag to send payments, as we already mentioned businesses do.
Then there are a wide variety of apps that work with NFC tags to track things like location, car mileage, or to lock and unlock doors. These are all things that branded, high-end tech products do individually but NFC tags can take care of with a little effort on your part.
NFC Tag Security
Having security concerns when inviting tech into your home is natural and has long been a conversation in other smart home circles. Fortunately, it’s easy to get encrypted NFCs and keep them secure in your home. For business, NFC is more secure than alternatives.
If you make an NFC-enabled smart card that isn’t your registered bank card, then you may lose that extra level of verification of having your name attached to the card. If somebody gets the NFC, they’d have an easier time spending money. That’s why it’s best to keep NFC tech inside the home, use your bank card instead.
Otherwise, keeping firmware updated and keeping your NFC tags inside the home will mitigate most security concerns. RFID skimmers have tried to scan chips from outside the home but there are RFID blocking materials that work with NFC and keep them safe. Most chips would be far enough inside the home for this to not be an issue.
