NFC stands for Near Field Communications. It is a kind of technology found in some mobile devices such as smartphones and used to engage in peer to peer radio communication. This connection is entirely wireless. You can do more with your phone if it has this technology. The use of NFC depends also on where you live. Probably, you may be able to make use of this technology fully in your area. It is often used for transferring information from one phone to the other when they are placed in close proximity. What this means essentially is that if your phone possesses NFC, it can communicate with other NFC enabled devices that are in close.
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Concerns about NFC
There are three main ways to make use of NFC. The first is the read and write mode. This mode makes it possible for one active device to pick up info or data from another passive device. The second is the peer to peer mode which lets two smartphones exchange data, and the third one involves card emulation. This allows for a smartphone to be used like a contactless credit card.
With that in view, this creates security challenges between devices. Ask yourself; “If someone gets too close to me, can they steal information from me without my knowledge?” The answer is yes, they could snatch precious information from your device. However, this doesn’t present much reasons for worry as they can be managed.
People have also used this means to get vital payment information from others. In other to do that, they may use strange apps to get what they want. So if you have a new app that you contemplate installing on your phone you have to be very careful. The safeguard is that you must know how the app works, what does and how it would affect your mobile phone. Not all apps on Google PlayStore or Apple iTunes are 100 percent safe.
Why Use NFC?
Those who frequently transact business know the importance of NFC. With it, you can swap business cards virtually by putting the phones close together. Some use this method to acquire and never have reasons to buy business cards. You can always rewrite the data if you change job or change your number.
In places like Germany and other countries in Europe, you could swipe your phone across an NFC reader as a pass for use on transportations devices. Other contactless travel cards also make use of this technology. Work is in progress for a time when your NFC-enabled phone will also be able to work seamlessly with PoS terminals and make it easy for you to do transactions even if you forgot your credit or debit card at home.
No NFC in Your Phone?
Some of those using smartphones today may long for the use of NFC when they have seen the work it can do. However, if NFC is not already on their phones, they may not be able to add it. Some devices or phones just can’t get NFC because certain requirements are lacking. Some companies are able to produce components that add NFC to smartphones. Some do the work through memory cards!
In the future, NFC will be a component present in many other phones than it is now provided the technology is given a real facelift.
