ADT introduces Safepass key-tag

BOCA RATON, Fla.--ADT in August introduced a new “key-tag” called Safewatch Safepass that it expects will help reduce false alarms and make disarming and activating home security systems more convenient. The key-tag uses RFID technology to arm and disarm alarm systems. Since the technology is in the tag itself, there’s no retrofitting of panels necessary. ADT says it’s the first U.S. security company to launch this technology. Anne-Marie Rouse, manager of product strategy for ADT North America, said the tag will work with “almost all of the currently installed ADT systems” and all new systems. It may be ordered through ADT for existing systems. The tag fits on a key chain and it must be waved within a quarter inch of a specific spot on the panel. “There’s no battery so there’s no battery charging to worry about; it’s maintenance free.” Rouse said the key-tag is ideal for “busy parents who are coming in and out of the house with groceries and children.” It can be given to children and teenagers and is a nice alternative to a key fob, she said, because it’s much less expensive. (An extra key-tag runs about $20, where a key fob is around $100.) It eliminates the need to memorize and punch in a pass code. In addition, the key-tag can be programmed to work at certain hours of the day, so it can be given to babysitters or housecleaners whose access a homeowner may want to limit. Rouse said that ADT expects that use of the key-tag will reduce the number of false alarms because “most false alarms are caused when [a homeowner] enters the wrong code or hits two numbers at once.”