Here's what privacy-savvy consumers should know about NFC notifications and RFID tags
A couple of weeks ago, I had a #TreatYoSelf moment and bought myself a sweet wallet. Then, over the course of weekend, I noticed that I was getting NFC notifications and couldn’t figure out what was triggering them. Ping, ping, ping! They wouldn’t leave me alone!
I was hesitant to click the link but, alas, I caved and tapped. Turns out, it was a marketing link from the wallet manufacturer. After some research, I learned that, in 2016, the company started using RFID tags in an effort to verify the authenticity of their goods and fight counterfeits. Fair enough.
Then I realized that there’s no way to turn off the NFC reader on iPhones. That means anytime my phone is near my wallet, I get a notification from the wallet brand to visit their website.
In this scenario, what’s an annoyed customer to do? After all, it’s not feasible to have a notification pop up every time my phone is near my wallet. So I did a deep dive into NFC notifications, RFID tags, and what to do about them. Here’s what I found out.
What is RFID?
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) refers to a wireless system that has two main components: tags and readers. The reader is a device that has one or more antennas that emit radio waves and receive signals back from the RFID tag. In my situation, the RFID tag was inside my wallet without my knowledge.
What is NFC?
Near-Field Communication (NFC) is a method of wireless data transfer that allows smartphones, laptops, tablets, and o ..
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