What’s the difference between wearing quantifying bracelets on wrists or ankles and temporary biotech tattoos directly on the skin? They both can track us and our vitals and can likewise be removed, yet…it feels like a new line is being crossed. Is it? Maybe not, but not for the reason you might expect. It’s not that we overreact to tattoo on skin but that we underreact to surveillance that seems at a remove. Each is equally boon and bane.

These new devices, whether hardware or software, will eventually bring a bounty of positive things (e.g., easy access to blood-sugar levels), but real-time medical data will be floating around the ether like so much of our lives right now. And health applications will just be the start of it: Soon enough, you’ll be a walking, talking credit card.

From Emily Reynolds at Wired UK:

Chaotic Moon‘s tattoos are currently in beta — nobody has one yet. But the company has high hopes for the Tech Tat. It could be used to track children in crowded places, they say, or for soldiers who need to have their condition monitored in detail. They could also be used for purchasing — just like Apple Pay. But will tech tattoos be replacing real tattoos any time soon? Unfortunately for tattooed tech-enthusiasts, Lamm thinks not.

“In theory they could work as real tattoos,” [CEO Ben] Lamm told Wired. “But when we embed into the dermal layer of our skin, a lot has to be considered. Conductivity is lost through the natural resistance of our skin, for example, and the materials we use to produce the circuit would probably have to be adapted.”

“I can see them working alongside real tattoos — I just don’t think they’ll augment or replace real tattoos”.

What Lamm does hope for is widespread adoption. And although many of the suggested uses of the tech are fairly extreme — military tracking being one example — he’s hopeful that they’ll become as omnipresent as the FitBit.

“We see these being used by everyone,” said Lamm. “The tech tattoo is a device that will just make everyone’s lives easier.”

“This kind of technology can work in complex situations as well as for home use. You could monitor your child’s temperature while they’re sick, or just monitor your own sleep patterns.”

“This kind of device has the potential to become another part of life, and to streamline your day-to-day interactions. They could potentially help you build a more quantified self.”•