DUBAI — A new type of manicure is allowing customers to keep their digital details at their fingertips, and share the information with others in seconds.
At this spa in Dubai, technicians specialize in chipping fingernails, and hundreds of customers have had it done already, including Hanane Spiers, who said, "Now if I'm in a loud place and I want to share my Instagram or my social media, I would say, 'Scan my finger!'"
The microchip is hidden under pretty polish and sealed onto the nail. Once connected wirelessly to a smart phone, data is sent in a matter of seconds.
Nour Makarem, the founder of Lanour Beauty Lounge, explained, "This chip is now working as a business card. So she can download her website, her social media accounts, her name, her contacts."
Makarem created the high-tech nail when the pandemic hit as an experiment on social media to help with social distancing.
Like credit cards, the microchip works by using "near-field communication" technology, allowing a quick, contactless connection to a cell phone.
Spiers said, ""It's a gimmick, as we say right now. So it's the fun and the joys of trying something new. Will it be the future? Maybe."
Creators hope so. They've microchipped more than 500 nails so far, and and hope to include contactless payments soon.
Makers hope to use the microchips in restaurants too, allowing servers to keep digital menus at their fingertips. They claim the technology used cannot be tracked or hacked, but critics say anytime you carry a device that transmits information wirelessly, you open yourself up to privacy risks.
