This fabric can store your passwords for you

That "means you could wear a bracelet that unlocks your bank or email account."

A fabric that can store data.

"Have you ever wished you had something to remember all your passwords?" asked Avery Thompson at Popular Mechanics. Researchers from the University of Washington have developed a fabric that can store data "in the threads," enabling it to operate like a keycard or passcode to open doors or unlock accounts. The fabric contains thread that can carry an electric charge, and the researchers magnetized small sections with coded digits. The thread can then be read by a magnetometer, including the kind "built into most smartphones."

(Image credit: Courtesy image)

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