Today, many users associate the use of NFC technology to pay for everyday purchases without having to remove the wallet from our pocket, either from our smartphone, from our smartwatch, quantifying bracelet or even from a tablet.
While it is true that today its main use has been reduced to that, It's not the only one. NFC technology did not hit the market for more than 10 years (the Nokia 6131 was the first smartphone to incorporate an NFC chip) in order to become a secure wireless payment method. Its utility was associated with routines to automate tasks, connect devices wirelessly to transmit information ...
What is NFC
NFC stands for Near Field Communication, which we could translate as near field communication. NFC technology was designed to remotely connect two or more devices that are in close range in order to transmit information of any kind. Communication takes place through a magnetic field generated by the antennas of these chips.
Google took advantage of this technology to launch Android Beam, the file sharing protocol between Android devices which was discontinued by the search giant in favor of Google Nearby. This new feature does not use the device's NFC chip (if you have one), but rather uses both the bluetooth connection and Wi-Fi to send and receive files with other devices.
In order to use Android Beam, it was necessary activate the operation of NFC technology in the device, a chip that causes excess battery consumption, which is why Google abandoned this technology to share files with lower energy consumption.
If we do not regularly use this technology on our smartphone, it is best to deactivate it in order to allocate the battery resources it uses to be continuously in contact with nearby compatible elements for other purposes.
How NFC works
Once we are clear about what NFC technology is and how it works, we must know what the two types of operation that they offer us, since they are not always emitting and receiving signals to their environment to share or receive information.
Active mode
When two devices want to share information between them, both have to activate the active mode, a mode that allows both sending and receiving information through the magnetic field they generate.
Passive mode
In this mode, only one device is the one that generates the electromagnetic field to share information while the other takes advantage of the generated field to receive it. In this case, the device that sends the information is always the one that activates the electromagnetic field, not the one that receives it, since it only takes advantage of it.
In addition to the use that has been given to this communication protocol today as a payment method, we can also use it in combination with NFC tags to create specific routines when the smartphone comes into contact with the tag.
Is NFC technology safe?
Obviously yes, since otherwise it would not be used as a payment system on smartphones. It must be taken into account that the electromagnetic field that is generated when using this technology it is very small (between 5 and 10 cm), so we must bring our device as close as possible to the device with which we want to connect, send information ...
Thanks to the fact that the electromagnetic field they generate is very small, none of the people who are around us around in the supermarket queue, you will be able to access the identifying data that is transmitted.
And if I could do it (nothing is 100% sure) all the data use the SLL protocol, so they are encrypted from the smartphone to the reader, so that if someone has access to them during the journey, they will not be able to decrypt them easily (I say again that there is nothing secure in this world and less in the industry of the technology).
If your smartphone is lost or stolen, unless you have not previously configured an identification method To access their content, you do not have to worry (beyond buying another smartphone) that they can use the card data, since they will never be able to access that data if they do not have the unlock key, pattern, facial identification , fingerprint ... so it will not be necessary to cancel the cards.
Use of NFC technology
Identify ourselves at an ATM without using the card It is already possible in many countries, which saves us from having to go looking for the card in the wallet. This is the fastest way to identify ourselves in front of an ATM to withdraw money, make operations ...
Both large events such as work centers, transport passes and leisure parks such as Disneyland use this technology as identification system for attendees, either through a smartphone or associated with an NFC card that can be reused
Some countries have begun to allow citizens to identify yourself through the NFC chip of your smartphone, a method that should be more widespread because no one forgets to leave home without a smartphone but if we can forget the wallet, the keys ... The current DNIs include an NFC chip to carry out administrative procedures related to the state, so that it is a matter of time before more and more countries choose the same path.
Use our smartphone as key to our vehicle. Little by little, more and more manufacturers are adopting the technology found in NFC chips to turn our smartphone into a key for our vehicle, a key that we can share with other friends or family for as long as we want.
Another utility that this technology offers us is the possibility of sharing with the people who come home the password of our Wi-Fi signal in a much simpler way than using the little paper with the password that we have on the fridge.
Although QR codes are widely used to access web pages about something specific (event, exhibition, course ...) little by little the NFC technology is taking advantage of its operation and at present, many museums and stores allow us to access information or additional information bringing our smartphone closer to a label with this technology.
Open the door of our home when we are in front of it, it is another of the utilities that NFC technology offers us, as long as we have a lock compatible with this technology. The problem is if we run out of battery in the mobile (although it is unlikely there is always the possibility).
Thanks to these labels, which we can place anywhere, we can change the settings of our device depending on the situation. For example, we can place an NFC tag on our vehicle so that when we enter it, the mobile is automatically silenced or connects to the car's bluetooth, open Google Maps, and start navigation to our work center.
Another example of functionality that these labels offer us is found when we get home. When we find in contact the label that we have at the entrance or where we usually leave our smartphone, it can turn off all notifications, enter do not disturb mode, launch Spotity and connect to the smart speaker that we have in our home to play our favorite playlist ...
Which terminals include NFC
Apple introduced the NFC chip with the launch of the iPhone 5s, a model that came from the hand of Apple Pay, the contactless payment system of the American company. At first, the use of this chip was limited to carrying out financial transactions, however, today, we can use it to read NFC cards, use a transport card ...
In the case of Android, the search giant added support for this technology with Android 4.2. However, despite the fact that 8 years have passed, to this day we can still find many smartphones that still do not adopt this chip, especially in most terminals that come from Asia when they are marketed in Spain.
If you plan to renew your smartphone to get the most out of this technology, first of all you should read the specifications to make sure if it includes this chip, as long as it is not an iPhone, since all of them incorporate it as standard, although it is more difficult to get as much out of it as in Android.
How much do they cost and where to buy NFC tags
At Amazon we have a large number of options when buying NFC tags, but not all offer the same amount of storage. The more information you want to offer or need to include on a label of this type, the greater its storage capacity should be.
Some models with this, allow to store up to 504 bytes of information and they allow us to place them on any surface without physically adhering them. Other models are rolls of NFC stickers with up to 500 units, whose storage space exceeds 100 bytes.
If we talk about size, we can also find something for all tastes and needs, from labels to are over 10 cm long to labels that are barely 1 cm long. We can also find keychains with fun colorsAlthough, they are obviously more expensive than labels intended for commercial use.