We have many ways of communicating with one person – email, SMS, calls, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat and so on. I have several annoying friends who use multiple forms of chat to reach me, often one a few minutes after the other if I don’t respond obediently.

If all of these apps shared a common protocol, and gave permissions to the OS, then the OS could aggregate the communications on a per person basis.

On my phone screen I could see an app named Barry, and clicking on it will show all my communications with Barry in a single, uniform interface. Replying to any of Barry’s messages would default to the app it came via, but that can be changed if I want.

Most of us would have less than 10 people that need a per person app. For business folk, they could perhaps be in folders of type, like potential client, existing client, exec team…

AR glasses will come, but it is taking forever, so I thought about intermediate technology that might help it become real.

Imagine this:

A detachable large tablet for the front passenger of a car. It will not work unless attached to a special hinge which ensures that the driver will be unable to view the screen.

The screen shows the same view as the windscreen, but with AR elements overlayed.

The copilot then does what they have often done historically with paper maps. They help the driver. Useful for these scenarios:

• Finding the house/building that is their destination
• Finding out where the closest gas station is – or charging station
• Checking alternate routes
• Getting info on business and places that they are driving past – that restaurant has a lunch deal!
• Ordering something before arriving

Why it works:

• Technology already exists, and could be quite cheap
• Avoids the dangers of similar in a HUD for drivers
• Unique selling point for the car brands who offer it
• A low-commitment entry into the AR space for Apple, Alphabet or Meta

It could also be used for audio playlists, car data, adjusting air conditioning, games, movies (with bluetooth headphones) – the latter uses for back seat passengers with a screen built into the back of the front seats.

Being built in is good for safety.

For 3FA, the standard options are:

• something you know – PIN or password
• something you are – fingerprint or face scan
• something you have – a phone or dongle

For most purposes that is plenty, but what if you need an extra level of security. It could be, for example, to access a Swiss bank account. Or, I propose The Vault:

The Vault is where you store documents that you would keep in a safe at home. Birth certificate, for example.

It can also be where you keep your BFF list. By mutual agreement, and retractable at any time, two people decide that each can always access the latest contact details of the other – phone, address, email, current location – when they access the vault. A good way of keeping track of relatives, for example.

The Fourth Factor is location. You select one or more physical locations that are not your work or home or family member’s home, and you are there when you set up the Vault, and you have to be there to access it.

Simple, and easily done via any phone, and to steal that fourth factor would take a lot more effort from the bad guys. 3FA should be highly safe, but 4FA feels safer, and is fine for things you only very occasionally access.

Note – location-based authentication has been invented, it just doesn’t seem to be used, or imagined to be used as above. It has been about basically being physically present at work.