Motorola on Tuesday announced the launch of the digital tattoo method of identification for its Moto X (Review | Pictures) handset, a tattoo sticker made out of "super thin" material that unlocks the smartphone without typing any passwords or drawing any patters.
Made by VivaLnk Inc. and Google's Advanced Technology and Projects group, the $9.99 NFC-operated digital tattoo is round and nickel-size, that sticking to the human skin with the help of an adhesive material and lasts for five days. The adhesive material is designed to tackle activities like jogging, showering and swimming.
The users would simply have to tap the Motorola Moto X's back side to the digital tattoo to unlock the smartphone. The whole process takes place over NFC connectivity.
"It's another step in making it easier to unlock your phone on the go and keep your personal information safe. An average user takes 2.3 seconds to unlock their phone and does this about 39 times a day-a process that some people find so inconvenient that they do not lock their phones at all. Using NFC technology, digital tattoos make it faster to safely unlock your phone anywhere without having to enter a password," said the Motorola blog post.
Moto X users can buy Digital Tattoo from VivaLnk's website. We hope VivaLnk Inc and Google to come up with similar products for major Android-running smartphones soon.
Regina Dugan, who created and heads the Google Advanced Technology and Projects group that was formerly part of Google-owned Motorola Mobility, announced the digital tattoo technology back in May last year. She was most recently named to Zynga's board of directors.
Google retained Motorola Mobility's Advanced Technology and Projects group and Project Ara unit when Lenovo announced its acquisition (pending legal approval) of the Google-owned company. Google had completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility in May 2012, the deal in August 2011.
Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2026 hub.