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Microchip Mania
Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images (Insert Chip); Pieter Ten Hoopen/Agence VU/Redux (Swipe)
1. A chip is inserted under the skin above the thumb with a syringe.
2. A swipe of the hand lets a user enter buildings, ride trains, share info, and more.
In Sweden, the latest must-have gadget is small enough to be inserted under your skin. Thousands are having rice-sized RFID (radio frequency identification) microchips implanted into their hands. The chips let users make payments and gain access to homes, offices, gyms, and trains by swiping against digital readers. In fact, so many Swedes want the device that chip-making company Biohax International is having trouble keeping up with demand. But what about safety and privacy concerns? Experts say the chips are mostly protected from hackers, and Swedes tend to be less worried about sharing personal information than people in other countries. “Having different cards . . . verifying your identity to a bunch of different systems just doesn’t make sense,” Jowan Österlund, Biohax’s founder, told NPR. “Using a chip means that the hyper-connected surroundings that you live in every day can be streamlined.”