The Everykey is a Wristband That Wants You to Stop Remembering Passwords

Our weekly look at the world of crowdfunding sees us searching for the most interesting new projects to back on sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. That's because some of the most exciting new products in recent times, such as the Pebble Smartwatch and the Oculus Rift VR headset have come out of crowdfunding campaigns, instead of with the backing of big companies. Not all new projects are going to be game-changers on the same scale, but often there are projects that are just too much fun to pass up.

The Everykey Kickstarter is one of the projects that might fall into the game-changer category though - it's a simple wristband that you wear, and the idea behind it is to do away with the problem of passwords. We have to remember increasingly complex passwords for a huge number of services today - or you could use a single account (such as Gmail or Facebook) as your authentication, and hope like hell that this account never gets compromised.

The Everykey is a Bluetooth-enabled wearable that can be used to access your accounts without having to enter a password. This way, you're logged into your computer and your accounts automatically when you're working on your laptop or your phone - and when you're a certain distance away from the device, it's locked down and can't be accessed by other people.

If you are worried about the Everykey falling into the wrong hands, don't worry, you can disable it through the Internet in case you lose it. The data on the Everykey is encrypted, so in theory at least, your passwords will be safe even if the wristband is stolen. What's more, the Kickstarter page also mentions that it can be used to open physical locks - though obviously, those would have to be Bluetooth-enabled and would have to support the technology, so you can't ditch all your physical keys just yet.

The range of the band is customisable, up to 3 meters, and it comes with a rechargeable battery that has a 30 day life. It is also water-resistant, though not water-proof, so it should be fine to wash your hands while wearing it, but don't forget to take it off before a shower or a swim.

The concept of the Everykey is not new - last year for example, the Nymi generated a lot of interest, and it uses sensors to measure your heartbeat to uniquely identify you, as an additional level of security. However, the simpler Everykey might actually be able to hit the market first, because after generating a lot of attention, the Nymi has still not left the pre-order stage, although it was supposed to reach the market in 2014.

The video below shows how the Everykey is supposed to work:

The project is accepting funding until November 30, and has at the time of writing raised over $39,000 (approximately Rs. 23,95,000) of a $100,000 (approximately Rs. 61,45,000) goal. While the Everykey will be sold at retail for $100 (approximately Rs. 6,150), you can pre-order one on Kickstarter for $50 (approximately Rs. 3,100), with a March 2015 estimated shipping date. So far, the technology behind the Everykey can be used to unlock an Android phone, a Mac or Windows PC, or log into websites using Chrome. According to the creators, they have tested a proof of concept for the Mozilla Firefox and Safari browsers as well, and more compatibility can be added to the wearable through software updates.

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