Best Faraday Bag Pouch for Phones
How incredible is it that someone can steal your data without being intrusive whatsoever? No violence, no computer hacking, no physical trace. Nada.
As scary as that sounds it is happening and thieves are now doing it in open sight. This type of crime is a goldmine opportunity for criminals and 95% of people are unaware of how this might happen to them.
Security is paramount to keeping your family safe. Securing your personal and financial data is a continuation of that.
How Do Thieves Take Advantage?
Perfect so far; everything is very convenient.
Take note, the smart key entry FOB is constantly emitting a signal i.e. the car door will open back up once we start approaching it without us having to press any buttons.
However, herein lies the problem. Once we start walking away from the parking lot we put ourselves at risk. Within a reasonable distance from my vehicle, say 100 metres, the signal is strong enough that an individual with the appropriate technology (which exists today) can boost that emitted signal and send it back to my parked car. And voila! My car can now be started and driven off or any items of value inside the car can be stolen.
It's really that easy.
A Warning: Be Careful Buying from eBay
Before we jump into highlighting our top 5, the first thing to say is don’t buy a cheap faraday pouch from Amazon or eBay as it completely defeats the objective of what you’re trying to do. They are cheap for a reason and will not provide the security you are looking for.
We’re not saying you should go only for the expensive ones, but you should be careful with what brand you purchase. I first got a cheap one off Amazon and it didn't work well :/
Faraday Bag by Mission Darkness
This faraday bag describes itself as 'military-grade...designed for law enforcement forensic investigators'. That's a pretty good self-appraisal, but it stacks up. It does get used by professionals, so it should be good enough for you.
- Uses high quality materials
- It has a slim design and will fit right into your pocket
- It is proven in many tests and has a high score in these tests
- It can deteriorate with time, but it's better than others
- The zipper can break if you're aggressive with it
- It's a bit pricier than others
Faraday Cage Protector BY TICONN
It probably is too small to use for your phone, but it is a perfect size for FOB car keys and a couple of credit cards.
- Premium textured quality
- Really easy to carry
- Material means that it won't bend much and will last
- There are some complaints it doesn't work with all brands
- Only enough space for 2 credit cards at most
- Not enough space if you have other keys e.g. house keys
Signal Blocking Bag BY ONEVER
It's got ample space to fit your credit and debit cards, mobile phones and car key FOB. For the price, it comes as a 2-pack.
- Comes with an 18 month warranty
- Looks smart and has a nice purse feel to it
- Large enough to hold all your RFID items
- Some say it doesn't work that well for phones
- It doesn't fit phones larger than a Samsung 10
- Is prone to breakage if you bend it too much
RFID Signal Blocking by WisdomPro
It's completely portable and fits into a large front pocket or your purse and handbag. However, it comes in two sizes, so make sure you opt for the larger one if you want something for your phone. The smaller sized one might a bit on the tight side.
Made out of Oxford cloth, it's a very classic looking bag which won't catch the attention of onlookers.
- Protects from RFID readers in the range of 10 MHz - 3 GHz
- Oxford cloth layer means that it doesn't stand out and it can be used as a normal wallet
- Comes in two colour options - black and pink
- Very much like the others, if you bend and twist it, then it can lose it's capability.
- Doesn't come with any warranty
- The small version is too big for cards, but too small for phones
Signal Blocking Case by Silent Pocket
They also claim to have a patented design, but we can't verify that. It works to eliminate theft, stops relay attacks and signal lifting in addition to preventing wireless key cloning and signal duplication.
It is made from a durable waterproof nylon material on the outside and multiple layers of RF Shielding Fabrics on the inside.
- Available in 2 different sizes
- Really good customer support after sales
- Available in a wide range of colours
- Prone to failure if you buy the wrong size and try to squeeze things in
- The quality of the stitching isn't as good as it should be
- A bit bulky which is unnnecessary
Police Approved Faraday Bags
The only Police approved product to protect yourself from this kind of risk is the Defender Signal Blocking Pouch. It’s actually Police preferred, which is as close as you can get to being approved.
This is our actual winner overall as it meets three of our ranking conditions.
- Price
- Size
- Discreteness
Coming in three colours - black, white and red - this product actually has over hundreds of reviews on Amazon, Google and Trusted Reviews combined and it is one of the few pouches that has a good reputation i.e. it won’t fail within a few months of purchase.
Your credit cards, phone and car keys will be protected from any signal attacks from looming thieves and criminals trying to extract your highly sensitive personal data.
Important features of a Faraday Pouch
Let's briefly go over the things you need to be looking for when deciding which bag to purchase. It's pretty straightforward and keeping these 5 key points in mind will serve you well.
Double Fold Closure Flaps
Better bags have a double closure system. A single one is OK, but since the Police and security personnel use a double flap system, it makes sense to follow them.
Multi-layered material
Top quality Faraday bags will have at least two layers, if not more. the absolute very best have 5 or 6 layers with different material on top each other.
Several Compartments
You don't want to spend on money to protect different things, so ideally you want the faraday bag to be able to contain you credit cards, your phone and car keys.
Durability
From our reviews above, a key factor in degradation is material wear & tear. You need to look out for this to ensure you're buying an item that will last.
Size
Related to the point for it to have several compartments, sizing is important. Yes, you want it to hold all your items, but do you need another backpack to carry it?
Is it worth making a DIY Faraday pouch?
The problem with a DIY version is that they tend to break and fail. Even with a few creases and bends, the effectiveness decreases dramatically.
It’s much more cost effective to buy them as they are available for not much more than a lunch or a few beers, so why bother wasting time to manually create something that may fail within a few uses.
Even some of the pouches can fail when they develop a few cracks.
However, a well made pouch can last for up to 12 months i.e. the ones fro Mission Darkness and Silent Pocket are recognised to have good durability. With Silent pocket, the added benefit is that the bag is made of leather and has a visual look of a wallet, so discreteness is a value here.
Use the FREE Electro Smart Testing App from the Google Store to see how effective your faraday pouch is providing the security that it claims to.
What About Block Car Key Signals?
Why can't the fobs just stop transmitting when they have been stationary for a couple of minutes? Anyone who wants to get into their car will have the key on them and very recently in motion.
The key fob for my car does just that, it stops transmitting after a couple of minutes of being stationary. This has been the case for my car model for a few months, so the statement that the car industry is yet to find a solution is nonsense.