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bluejacking

Jill5 Comments

My bluetooth phone, new powerbook and I are still honeymooning in our newfound togetherness. Pleasure rushes down my spine each time I sync my addressbook and calendar to my phone, carefullynegligently leaving the phone in my pocket or bag. I adore sending SMSes from the comfort of a keyboard rather than thumbing the number keys of my mobile.

Now I’ve found a new way to enjoy our symbiosis: bluejacking. If I create a new contact where the “name” is actually a secret message I want to send, I can send that message to anyone within ten metres who’s carrying a bluetooth enabled phone – unless they’ve not switched bluetooth on. It’s free, anonymous, and just imagine the entertainment potential with the excitement of not knowing who will receive your message. Flirting is obviously one use, as one victim describes:

Jealous, [my girlfriend] began to watch around to guess who was the one that sent the things to me. And she detected a blonde girl, two tables behind ours, that had a suspicious attitude, with her eyes put inside its purse.” (BluejackQ.com, stories)

I know that “suspicious attitude” exactly. My students look like that when they’re SMSing instead of working. Perhaps they were actually trying to bluejack me! (via BBC news)

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5 thoughts on “bluejacking”

  1. Stein

    So they’ve discovered a way of sending very short(and mostly lewd)messages that’s most effective in a crowd of people, that can be recieved no more than 10 yards away without much chance of discovering who sent it and generally causing no more than confusion.

    Sounds disturbingly like the ubiquitous shouting in a club around midnight to me…

  2. Jill

    Oh, Stein, you spoiled the whole idea! Shouting… well… yes, maybe, but it’s the TECHNOLOGY, see, that’s so cool!

    Hm.

  3. Mattias

    Fantastic this is! I’ll go out and try it right away! The part with sending pictures is the best.

  4. Jill

    So what pictures will you be sending, Mattias? And DO let us know whether it works!

  5. Brad

    Well, the technology doesn’t work QUITE that seamlessly. The recipient has to have left his/her Bluetooth device in “discoverable” mode. While I personally think doing so is one of the most naive things a technophile can do, I suppose there are people who enjoy the risk, the excitement of being stalked by strangers in a crowd.

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