An NFC tag is a cheap sticker your phone can read. Your PC doesn't need an NFC reader: you tap your phone on the tag, and Carrio moves the YouTube video (or Chrome's front tab) from your PC to your phone over your Wi-Fi. Tags are optional, but they're the nicest way to use Carrio.
An NFC tag is a thin sticker, card or key ring with two things inside: a tiny chip that holds a short link, and a coil of thin foil around it that works as its antenna. That's all there is to it. They come in packs and they're cheap, well under a dollar each (prices below).
There's no battery. When you tap, your phone powers the chip through that coil for the split second it takes to read it, so there's nothing to charge. NXP, who make the chips, rate them to keep what's written on them for 10 years and to be rewritten 100,000 times.
They all work the same way, so pick whatever suits the spot.
| Tag | What a tap does |
|---|---|
| PC → Phone | Sends the YouTube video playing on your PC to your phone. With Current tab, it sends the page in Chrome's front tab instead. |
| Phone → PC | Opens the YouTube video playing on your phone in Chrome on your PC. This one needs the Play Store version, which isn't out yet. With the version on this site, share it to your PC instead. |
| Smart | Works out the direction for you, from what is playing where. |
With the version on this site, your phone can't see what it's playing, so a Smart tag goes by your PC: if your PC's playing something, it comes to your phone. Both ways comes with the Play Store version.
If you always want one direction, a PC → Phone tag never has to guess. Phone → PC tags come with the Play Store version.
Search for NTAG215 stickers. NTAG213 is fine too. The name is the chip inside, and the shops put it in the title.
| Chip | Memory | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| NTAG215 | 504 bytes | The one you'll see most, so it's the easiest to find. Get these. |
| NTAG213 | 144 bytes | Often a little cheaper, and still plenty of room for a Carrio tag |
| NTAG216 | 888 bytes | Works too, but you're paying for room you won't use |
The memory sizes come from the chip maker's (NXP's) data sheet.
Prices checked:
Anywhere that sells NTAG215 stickers is fine. Here's what a search turned up in October 2026.
| Shop | A pack | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com | $5 to $10 for 30 to 60, or $11 to $22 for 100 to 200 | About 10 to 35 cents |
| Amazon.de | €4 to €11 for 20 to 70, or €11 to €15 for 100 | About 10 to 30 cents |
| Takealot | R190 to R450 for 20 to 100 | About R2 to R10 |
| AliExpress | $3 to $15 for 100 | About 3 to 15 cents, but slower to arrive |
These are plain search links, and I don't get anything if you buy. Prices move around, so take them as a rough guide. Amazon in other countries, or a local electronics shop, will have them too.
And that's it. Carrio never locks a tag, so you can rewrite it any time. Tags written by older versions keep working.
My tags lists every tag this phone has written or tapped, with its name, what it does and when you last used it. You can rename a tag or forget it.
Heads up: the list lives on your phone, so reinstalling the app forgets the names. A tag comes back the next time you tap it.
The edge of your desk, under your monitor, the bedside table, by the door, or on a coaster. Anywhere you'd naturally put your phone down works.
Find your phone's NFC spot once. It's usually in the middle of the back or near the cameras. Keep the phone awake and unlocked when you tap. Thick or metal cases can get in the way.
Browser tags let a phone without Carrio open your PC's YouTube video, or its Chrome tab, in the phone's web browser. They're off by default, because anyone on your Wi-Fi could use one.
Turn them on in the Browser tags tab of Carrio on your PC, then write the link it shows onto a tag with any NFC writer app.
The next thing on my list is a soundboard: a printed sheet of tiles with a tag behind each one, so a tap plays a sound on your PC.
No. They're passive, so your phone powers them for the split second it reads them. Stick one down and forget about it.
Yes. Carrio never locks a tag, so you can write it again with a different direction or action whenever you like. Tags written by older versions of the app keep working too.
Most Android phones do. Search for NFC in your phone's Settings. If it's there, switch it on and you're set.
Yes. Any Android phone with NFC can write tags with Carrio, so you don't need a separate writer app or gadget.
Yes. It only holds a short link that says what to do, like carrio://tap?dir=pc-phone&action=youtube&v=1. There's no personal data on it, and it only does something on a phone that has Carrio paired with a PC.
Not yet. I'm getting Windows and Android right first. iPhone is on the list for later, but there's no date yet.
Check NFC is on in your phone's settings, and that the screen is on and unlocked. Then move the tag around the back of the phone, because the reader is usually somewhere near the middle or the cameras. Thick or metal cases can block it.
It's free. Grab a pack of NTAG215 stickers, or start with the buttons in the app.
