Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Swedish company promotes biochip implant to carry your COVID passport

A Swedish tech company is leading the way on implanted microchips to carry COVID passports.

As COVID-19 continues to rage with the spread of new variants, having your health pass accessible is becoming increasingly essential. But would you be willing to have it actually implanted in your hand?

That’s one use DSruptive Subdermals has been promoting for its implanted microchips.

The Swedish company, specialised in implantable microelectronics, wants to use its implants as a medical aid to track COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Biochips use near field communications (NFC), the same technology used for contactless payment, which allows them to be scanned by other devices, such as smartphones, door readers, and payment terminals.

"We know that the world of connected devices, the Internet of Things as a lot of people call it, speaks the language of NFC [...] So when I have a chip in my hand it allows me to speak the language of all these devices and interact with them effortlessly," said Hannes Sjoblad, Managing Director of DSruptive Subdermals.

The biochip, which is the size of a grain of rice, can be used to carry COVID passports.


But it also means that the microchip could give your data away as it can be scanned by anyone with a reading device.

"The real issue is data handling, which will be an issue later on with how data is stored... if the data is not secure, someone can get your information and once it's out there, it's hard to get back," warned Ben Libberton, a microbiologist working for MAX IV Laboratory, in an interview to Euronews Next in June.

However, to steal information from the chip, a person would first need to know that you have an implant, then touch it with a smartphone to activate it. Sjoblad also assures that the chips cannot track your location.

"They don't have a battery, they cannot transmit a signal by themselves, so they are basically passive. They sit there asleep,” he said.

“They can never tell your location, they're only activated when you touch them with your smartphone, so this means they cannot be used for tracking anyone's location.”

Implanted microchips aim at making daily life more convenient and are already used by a number of people and companies around the world to replace keys, access cards and IDs.

In 2018, Sweden’s state-owned train company even trialled biochips as a replacement for train tickets.

Amanda Black, manager of Epicenter, a digital hub in Stockholm that has made the chip available to its workers in recent years, said she feels the chip is even safer than traditional ways to store datas.

"Well I think it's very much part of my own integrity to have myself chiped and keep my personal data there with me, I actually feel that it's even more control in my hand having it in my own hand," she said.

Another company, Biohax International, who is behind the microchips used by the Swedish railways company, is working with health partners so that its microchips contain health information.

If someone is brought unconscious to the hospital, for instance, a simple scan of the chip could give doctors information about the patient’s pre-existing conditions.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
×