Shloosl Will Make a Copy of Your House Key Using Only a Couple of Photos
Photography has made inroads into all sorts of industries. For instance, the Snap Fashion app we shared a couple of weeks ago lets you take photos of clothes and then shows you where to buy them. But the most recent interesting application we’ve run across comes to us via a company named Shloosl, who will copy your house key for you using nothing more than a couple of smartphone photos.
The alternative, of course, is heading down to the local Walmart or locksmith, but that doesn’t always work out. Adam Dachis over at LifeHacker claims that Shloosl was the first to get a copy of his house key right (apparently he has a really tough door) and it’s not that much more expensive than going to the hardware store. Not to mention, the entire process can be done from the comfort of your home.
To get a copy made, all you have to do is snap two photos of your key — one photo per side — from about 4-inches away. You then email the highest-resolution photos possible to Shloosl, and let their robots do the rest. Pay $5 including shipping and you’ll have a discreet, unmarked envelope with your copy in your mailbox within a couple of days.
Shloosl is adamant that the process is 100% secure from every angle. A credit card is required for every key, so that identity can be traced back, and the picture must show you holding they key (no “flyby” pics). Additionally, the company’s servers use bank-grade encryption to make sure your key photos and info don’t fall into the wrong hands, and shipping info is erased from the system a few days after your key goes out.
Still, that doesn’t explain how Shloosl would prevent your prankster friend from taking a legitimate photo of your house key while you’re in the bathroom and ordering a copy for himself/herself, but the website claims that no case of fraud has ever come up.
To learn more about the service or put it to the test yourself, head over to Shloosl’s website by clicking here.
Image credit: A sign of the times? Project 365(2) Day 68 by Keith Williamson
