The technological advances that occur over the years bring as a consequence that smartphones increasingly incorporate functions that are very useful during our day to day life. A clear and concise proof of this is the mobile NFC , which has spread considerably due to the pandemic.
It is a tool that is mainly used to make contactless payments with the phone. However, there is a sector of users who do not usually use it for fear that their bank details or personal information will be extracted. That is why there are some ways to further increase the security of this feature so that everyone is encouraged to do so.
It should be noted that this property is in itself completely safe, although it all depends on how we use it. In fact, it is comparable in terms of privacy to paying with the card itself. The difference is that this method is much more comfortable.
Activate Secure NFC
Google is one of the companies most committed to this issue. For this reason, since the stellar appearance of Android 10, all smartphones that have NFC have a setting that increases the security of this particularity.
We are talking about Secure NFC, whose purpose is that the tool is only activated when the terminal is open . This means that in the event that someone tried to steal money from your account through an NFC sticker they will need the device to be unlocked.
Finding this configuration on your phone is extremely simple, as you just have to access Settings and enter ‘Connection Preferences’ in the same search bar. This will redirect you to various options among which you will be able to see the one you are looking for.
Use secure apps
The manufacturers themselves have fully secure and encrypted payment services. It is advisable to make use of them so as not to suffer any problems during the transaction. In the virtual store of your mobile you may see a large number of applications, but use the following only and exclusively if you want to feel greater security:
- Google Pay
- Apple pay
- Samsung Pay
Some of them have a very particular option known as ‘tokenization’ , which allows absolutely all payments made through the smartphone’s NFC to be encrypted. So it is advisable that you take a look at the settings of the app.
Keep it off
A simpler and more uncomplicated option is to disable this property and activate it only when we intend to use it . Like all functions that our terminal integrates, NFC technology is no exception. Unless you are a person who usually buys in excess (and with a lot of money), the normal thing is that you need this tool on occasions that can be counted on the fingers of the hands. In this way, you can not only save yourself an almost impossible displeasure, but also the battery will not be excessively affected, since it is a property that consumes a lot of energy.