This Flipper Zero App Shows How Vulnerable Digital Price Tags Really Are

The Flipper Zero is so feature-rich that if you're wondering what it's actually used for, well, that's a tough question to answer. You can run scripts and interact with existing devices, deploy or interact with wireless technologies like NFC, spoof Apple AirTags or even spam iPhones with pop-up notifications. There's no single use case for it, and that's the point. You can do whatever you want, based on what the internal components allow. You can even add accessories to expand its capabilities. As some resourceful users have discovered, you can also use it to change the electronic shelf labels in various retail stores. That would allow you, theoretically, to change prices.

It's all made possible thanks to a Flipper Zero app called TagTinker, developed by i12bp8. The app was created to communicate with infrared electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the standout pricing labels you might find on grocery store or retail store shelves. They receive commands via infrared, which the Flipper Zero can obviously handle, to send images, scan tags via NFC and make some adjustments. Although the developer expressly forbids using the app for anything illegal, you could always upload a bitmap of your favorite silly meme to a device you own. TagTinker is "an independent project intended strictly for educational research, security curiosity, and displaying digital art on hardware that you legally own."

The key takeaway here is really how vulnerable the e-paper-style price tags are. You can use NFC and infrared transceivers to change or upload data without many roadblocks. There's nothing inherently headline-grabbing about the application, but those little tag devices with an e-paper-like screen are pretty neat as-is. Not to mention, it's always cool to see how the Flipper Zero can be used in new ways and how developers are continually expanding its capabilities.

TagTinker allows you to "display text," show "test patterns," and, if you have a Wi-Fi dev board for your Flipper Zero, "unlock live, network-rendered tag designs." You can do some really neat stuff if you have one of those ESLs lying around. It's also surprising how vulnerable they are. Anyone could change them in the real world. 

Despite how it may seem, neither the Flipper Zero nor this app is necessarily intended for nefarious purposes, and as a whole, it can be quite a handy little setup. What's more surprising is that you can travel with a Flipper Zero in your carry-on luggage, as the TSA doesn't explicitly prohibit it. You could take yours all over the world with you, program it to open the garage doors on your rental while visiting, or tinker while you're away from home. One thing is certain: you should unequivocally not use this tool or this app to do anything untoward, like putting risqué bitmaps on public devices.