What is an NFC tag? How it works and what it's used for (UK guide)
An NFC tag is a small sticker, card or disc with a tiny chip and antenna inside. Hold a phone close and the tag passes it a link or instruction, such as opening a web page or your Google review form. It has no battery and, on most modern phones, needs no app.
In this guide
If your phone has ever buzzed after you held it near a poster, a business card or a café table, you have used an NFC tag. This guide covers what is inside one, how a tap turns into a web page, which phones can read them, and how UK businesses use them to collect Google reviews.
What does NFC stand for?
NFC stands for near field communication. It is a short-range wireless technology that only works when two devices are almost touching, within about 4 cm (an inch and a half). Contactless bank cards and Apple Pay or Google Pay use the same technology. An NFC tag is the simplest version of it: a chip that holds a small message and waits for a phone to ask for it.
How does an NFC tag work?
Inside every tag are two parts: a tiny chip that stores a few hundred bytes of data, and a flat coil of wire that acts as the antenna. There is no battery. The phone supplies the power.
- Your phone gives off a weak magnetic field from its NFC reader whenever the screen is on.
- When you bring it close to a tag, the tag's coil picks up that energy and wakes the chip for a split second.
- The chip sends back the message saved on it, which is usually a web link.
- Your phone shows a notification or opens the link straight away.
The whole exchange takes well under a second. Because the tag only answers when a phone is a few centimetres away, nothing happens in your pocket or across the room.
One practical catch: metal blocks the signal. A standard tag stuck straight onto a metal tin or till will often fail to read. Tags made for metal surfaces have a shield layer behind the coil, or you can leave a gap with a plastic or acrylic stand.
What can an NFC tag do?
A tag stores a short instruction, and the phone does the work. The most common jobs are:
- Opening a web page, such as your website or an offer page.
- Opening your Google review form so a customer can leave a review in a few taps.
- Sharing contact details, which is how an NFC business card works.
- Showing a digital menu or price list at a table or reception desk.
- Starting a WhatsApp chat or opening an Instagram or TikTok profile.
- Running an automation at home, like switching a phone to silent when you tap a tag by your bed.
What a tag cannot do is take a payment or hold your personal details by itself. It only stores what someone writes onto it, and that is usually a link.
Which phones can read NFC tags?
Almost every phone sold in the last several years can. The details differ slightly between iPhone and Android:
| Phone | Reads tags? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone XS, XR and newer | Yes, automatically | Wake the screen and hold the top of the phone against the tag. |
| iPhone 7, 8 and X | Yes, with one extra step | Add the NFC Tag Reader button to Control Centre and tap it before scanning. |
| Android (most models) | Yes, if NFC is switched on | Check NFC is on in Settings, unlock the screen, and hold the back of the phone against the tag. |
The reader sits in a slightly different spot on each model. If a tag does not respond, slide the phone around slowly and keep it still for a second. Cases with metal plates or magnetic rings can get in the way.
NFC tag vs QR code vs RFID
People mix these up because all three link the physical world to a screen. They behave differently:
| NFC tag | QR code | RFID tag | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you use it | Hold the phone against it | Point the camera at it | A dedicated reader scans it |
| Range | About 4 cm | As far as the camera can focus | From centimetres to several metres |
| Can you change the link later? | Yes, unless it has been locked | Not once printed, unless it is a redirecting code | Depends on the chip |
| Works on a phone? | Yes, almost all modern phones | Yes, every phone with a camera | Rarely |
| Typical use | Review stands, business cards, menus | Posters, packaging, print adverts | Stock control, access passes |
NFC is actually a short-range form of RFID, which is why the two get lumped together. The practical difference is that your phone is already an NFC reader and almost never an RFID one.
Neither NFC nor QR is better in every situation, which is why most of our stands and cards carry both: tap for phones that can, scan for the rest. If you only need a QR code, our free Google review QR code generator will make one in about a minute.
Types of NFC tag: NTAG213, NTAG215 and NTAG216
When you shop for blank tags you will see these three chip names. They differ mainly in how much they can store:
| Chip | Usable memory |
|---|---|
| NTAG213 | 144 bytes |
| NTAG215 | 504 bytes |
| NTAG216 | 888 bytes |
A web link takes roughly 30 to 60 bytes, so even the smallest chip is plenty for a review link or a website. Paying for extra memory only makes sense if you want to store something longer, like a full contact card. The shape (sticker, card, keyring, coin or wristband) changes where you can put it, not how it works.
How UK businesses use NFC tags to get Google reviews
A review tag is an ordinary NFC tag with one job: it holds the link to a business's Google review form. A customer taps it, the review box for that business opens, and they type a few words and choose a star rating. They skip the usual route of opening Google, searching for the business and finding the "Write a review" button.
That shorter route is the whole idea. The rest comes down to where the tag sits and when you ask. The spots that work are the ones customers already look at: next to the card machine, on the table, at reception, on the shop window, or on a card you hand over with the receipt.
Tap & Rate stands, cards, tiles and keyrings work this way, with a QR code as backup for anyone whose phone cannot tap. If you run a salon, restaurant, garage or clinic, the NFC stands are the usual starting point, and the NFC cards suit staff who want to hand a review link to a customer in person.
The same tag technology also powers digital business cards. A single tap shares your name, number and website, and the card never needs reprinting when your details change.
Can you make your own NFC tag?
Yes. Blank tags are cheap, and writing a link onto one takes a couple of minutes:
- Buy blank NFC tags. NTAG213 is enough for a single link.
- Install a free NFC writer app on your phone, such as NFC Tools (available for iPhone and Android).
- In the app choose Write, then Add a record, then URL, and paste your link.
- Press Write and hold the tag against the phone until the app confirms.
- Test it by tapping with a different phone. Lock the tag afterwards if you do not want anyone to be able to overwrite it.
For a review tag you need your Google review link first. The review link finder on our generator page will get it for you. Ready-made tags save you the setup and come in stands, cards and window stickers that look right on a counter, which is the main reason businesses buy them.
Frequently asked questions
What does "NFC tag detected" mean on my phone?
It means your phone's NFC reader picked up a tag. The tag might be in a phone case, a wallet card or a product label. Nothing has been installed or copied. If the notification keeps appearing, move the phone away from whatever it is touching.
Do NFC tags need a battery?
No. A standard tag has no battery and takes the small amount of power it needs from the phone's signal each time you tap. That is why tags last for years.
How far away does an NFC tag work?
About 4 cm at most, and often closer. You hold the phone against the tag or very near it. This short range is also what stops anything being read by accident.
Can an NFC tag track my phone or my location?
No. A tag has no GPS and no power source of its own, and it can only reply when a phone is within a few centimetres. It does not know who you are or where you have been.
Can I change the link on an NFC tag later?
Yes, unless the tag has been locked. You rewrite it with an NFC writer app the same way you wrote it the first time. NXP, the company that makes NTAG chips, rates them for 100,000 rewrites. Printed stands and cards stay useful for years because the link underneath can be updated.
Do iPhones read NFC tags?
Yes. iPhone XS, XR and every newer model read tags automatically when the screen is on. The iPhone 7, 8 and X need the NFC Tag Reader button added in Control Centre first.
Shop the products in this guide
Get more Google reviews with one tap
NFC and QR stands, cards and tiles that send customers straight to your review page. No app, no subscription, fast UK delivery.
