14 DAY TRIAL // Today’s mobile phones use various security measures to prevent unauthorized usage and to enable the rightful owner of a device to take full advantage of it.
Soon, however, this concept might be brought up to a whole new level, at least this is what a recently filed patent application coming from Nokia shows.
The Finnish handset vendor went to the US Patent and Trademark Office and filed a patent for a ferromagnetic material that could be applied to the user’s skin and which would connect to the mobile phone.
The material can be stamped, sprayed or tattooed on the user’s body, and will ensure that only the owner of the handset can use it.
In addition to ensuring the mobile phone is not active unless within a specific range from the user, the tattoo would also alert when messages or phone calls arrive.
“The ferromagnetic material vibrates in a multitude of ways when a message, phone call, low battery indication or several other alerts are received by the tattoo from a Nokia phone. The magnetic field can cause of multitude of different vibrations,” a recent post on Nokia Connects reads.
An extra level of security is added by making the magnetic mark invisible. Those who are not into visibly mark their body with tattoos would certainly appreciate that.
With such tattoos and compatible mobile phones in the hand, users would no longer rely on passwords to secure their devices, as they become the “password” to unlock the device.
“If I happened to be walking around blissfully unaware that my pocket was flapping open on a busy street and someone saw the opportunity to steal my phone, I would be over the moon that they couldn’t access it without a small marking on my arm,” the said blog post continues.
Since the patent application has just been filed, it would take a long time before it gets approved, provided that it indeed is successful. In the meantime, however, we’ll have to use more traditional methods to lock our phones.