Some newer cars support digital keys, which use Near Field Communications (NFC) and work like contactless payment cards and require a tap – they do not unlock the car as you walk towards it.
Digital keys are supplied as credit card sized digital key cards, and can also be installed on many smartphones. To unlock or lock the car you tap the card, or phone, against the NFC reader area on the door handle.
To start the car, you place the card or phone on the NFC reader tray inside the car and then press start.
Digital key (NFC) keys are not vulnerable to relay theft because they work only from a few centimetres away.
Digital key (NFC) usually support secure key-sharing with family members through the official key-sharing process using Apple/Google wallet features or the manufacturer’s app which require approval steps a thief who steals your smartphone cannot realistically bypass.
However, the normal key fobs supplied with the car might still be vulnerable to relay car theft, so some owners choose to just use their smartphone to unlock/lock/start their car and permanently leaving the normal key fobs in good faraday pouches out of sight inside their house. Putting the faraday pouches inside a metal tin with a tight-fitting lid adds an extra layer of protection (don’t use tin foil – the seal it creates is unreliable). The downside – if your phone battery dies, you’re locked out (but credit card sized digital key cards don’t use a battery so always work).
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