Checked out when you check out

 

Most tags currently in use are meant to register a single item one time or track the movements of a high-value asset like a computer or a piece of military hardware. The tags pasted inside the covers of books at the library are scanned when a book is checked out and when it returns, largely eliminating human error from the library’s inventory management. If you work at a large company, some of their laptops or other computer equipment might have active RFID tags attached to them, allowing the company to keep track of who has their equipment and where it is. If you’ve got an RFID-enabled phone, you can link it directly to your credit cards and—at retailers equipped with the proper interrogator—simply pick up an RFID-embedded item and walk out without ever visiting the cashier. If you don’t have that kind of phone and just decide to walk out with a tube of Pringles, the retailer could know instantly that you’ve stolen something—and he could track you down.

More sophisticated tags can do more than just remember and transmit preprogrammed information. Active tags could know how much milk is left in a jug or how many pickles remain in a jar. They might talk directly to your new fridge, which could, in turn, transmit its contents to your local supermarket. Any perishable item could be smart enough to know when its time has come, and gossipy enough to tell a retailer. Walk into a store carrying an RFID-enabled credit card, and you could immediately be subjected to ads targeted directly at you; reminders that you’re out of tampons, the milk has gone bad, and your kids need more Go-gurt.