NFC Security with iPhones

Modified on Sun, 28 Jan at 3:55 PM

Overview

When you are using the URL Routine Trigger with NFC tags you have two options:

You can write the URL of the trigger to the NFC tag with a smartphone app such as NFC Tools. Whenever someone scans the NFC tag, the URL will be discovered by the device (e.g., the smartphone) and the URL Routine Trigger will be launched automatically. The advantage of this option is that any device will be able to read the URL and to launch the trigger. The major disadvantage is that literally any person will be able to scan the tag and launch the trigger if you place the NFC that in a publicly accessible place.
With iPhones, you do not have to write the URL of the URL Routine Trigger to the NFC tag. Instead, you only scan the unique ID of the NFC that with your iPhone and tell you iPhone to open the URL of the trigger whenever this NFC that is scanned.

Step-by-step guide

What you will need to perfom these steps:

the URL Routine Trigger Alexa skill and at least one trigger,
an iPhone, and
the “NFC Tools” iPhone app or any other app for writing NFC tags.

Please follow these steps for a secure setup of the URL Routine Trigger with NFC tags on an iPhone:

Delete the URL from the NFC tag using the NFC Tools app on your iPhone.
Open Apple’s “Shortcuts” app.
Create a new automation (not a shortcut).
From the list of automation types, choose “NFC” and scan the NFC tag with your iPhone. It will only read the unique identifier of your NFC tag and will not require any URLs to be stored on the NFC tag.
As action, use “Get contents from URL” and paste the complete link of you URL Routine Trigger. This action will call your URL Routine Trigger in the background and will not open the URL in Safari.

At the end of your automation, you could add a message that is displayed on your iPhone so that you know that the trigger was activated.

How it works

When you scan the NFC tag with your iPhone, the automation you created will be called in the background. The automation will call the URL Routine Trigger. Since the URL for your URL Routine Trigger only resides on your iPhone, it is more secure than putting the URL on the NFC tag.

Please note that you have to configure each smartphone that should be able to use the NFC tag.