So this isn’t some thinly-veiled “Hello fellow teenagers” attempt to skirt around doing shady stuff. My interest in the Flipper Zero comes from an EDC mentality. I like knives and flashlights and watches and all that fancy Instagram pocket junk, and lately I’ve been seeing a lot of people posting Flippers with their gear.
I work in an industrial setting with RFID doors, a TV in the break room, remotes for the office AC and stereo in the shop, stuff like that. I think it would be convenient to have one gadget to control all that stuff. I have permission/access to it all anyway, but much like I enjoy my Leatherman I think an electronic multi-tool would be right up my alley.
My hesitation is all the legal suspicion (and what seems like misinformation) surrounding the Flipper. I’ve read up on it, and I know it’s not all a lot of people worry it to be. I know kids aren’t out there stealing cars and launching nukes with them, but there still seems to be a lot of apprehension with what their purpose is, or what some people assume it to be. I don’t even intend to unlock it so that I can use it on the overhead doors at work (even though I have access to use them) or anything like that. And as such I don’t feel it’s necessary to hide it or be sneaky about using it. But at the same time I don’t want someone to see it and think I’m up to no good.
How justified is my paranoia about owning and using one? If I order one, is the shipment going to get confiscated? Am I going to get a knock on my door asking to explain myself? Maybe it’s all a bit silly, but I just don’t want to deal with a hassle that’s truly undeserved.