A Data Breach You Can Smell

In an age of constant connectivity, it’s hard to know when you’re putting data at risk. Not so with the Smell of Data, an experimental product designed by Dutch duo Leanne Wijnsma and Froukje Tan that syncs with smartphones and computers via wi-fi and emits a metallic odor when, for example, users visit an unprotected website or connect to a nonsecure hot spot.

The goal, says Wijnsma, was to create a “bad data” alert that’s hard to miss, just as the U.S. government requires that a sulfur smell be added to odorless natural gas so people can sniff out leaks. Next up: making it smaller or even wearable.