Thousands in Sweden Are Inserting Microchips Into Their Skins

The chips are designed to speed up users' daily routines and make their lives more convenient.

Sweden is a country rich with technological advancement, but now many of residents are taking that love of technology one step further.

Thousands of Swedes have had microchips inserted into their hands. The chips are designed to speed up users’ daily routines and make everyday things more convenient, like accessing their homes, offices and gyms, reports NPR. 

The chips can also be used to store emergency contact details, social media profiles or e-tickets for events and rail travel within Sweden. Those who support the chips say they are safe and largely protected from hacking.

One dissenting scientist, however, is raising privacy concerns around the kind of personal health data that might be stored on the chips.

The microchips are about the size of a grain of rice and are inserted into the skin just above each user’s thumb. The procedure costs about $180.

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