June 6, 2026, 3:20 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
They can be found on shelves in many supermarkets and media stores. They’re practical because they can be quickly changed with little effort, avoiding paper waste. We’re talking about digital price tags. But what many don’t know: They can be hacked and manipulated using software and radio technology. TECHBOOK tells the story behind why photos of hacked digital price tags are circulating online thanks to TagTinker.
On the open-source platform GitHub, the developer goes by i12bp8. He has uploaded his program TagTinker there. TagTinker is a tool for Flipper Zero. This small device is considered by digital security experts and hackers alike as a kind of electronic Swiss Army knife—a device with which countless things can be done, both legally and illegally.
Photos of Manipulated Price Tags Thanks to TagTinker
But let’s start from the beginning. A few weeks ago, photos appeared on the online forum Reddit showing how users hacked and manipulated digital price tags using TagTinker via Flipper Zero. This is not allowed. Developer i12bp8 explicitly states in the program description on the TagTinker page on GitHub that the tool is for research purposes only, stating:
“Under no circumstances may this software be used for illegal activities. It is strictly prohibited to use TagTinker to alter retail displays, modify electronic shelf labels in stores, interfere with third-party infrastructure, or cause any form of vandalism or financial damage.”
As the comments and photos on Reddit show, users have ignored the prohibition. However, the focus should be less on whether it’s legal or illegal, and more on why it’s so easy to do.
This Is Flipper Zero
Here’s a brief technical digression. Flipper Zero is a co-production by developers from Russia and Ukraine. The device hit the market in 2020, before the Russian army’s attack on Ukraine began.
Flipper Zero combines many tools and functions from the fields of radio technology and infrared into one device. There have long been individual devices for all application areas, but none that combined everything and fit in a pocket.
Thanks to infrared, Flipper Zero can be used as a TV remote control, a radio weather station, or a remote switch during presentations. All completely harmless. But users quickly discovered how to use it for plenty of mischief.
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Even iPhones Weren’t Safe
Flipper Zero first gained significant attention in 2023. It became known that the device could crash iPhones. Apple was only able to close this security gap months later with an update. Now back to the manipulated digital price tags. The project “Furrtek” uncovered this security flaw. But no one has apparently thought to close this gap yet.
The infrared connection in digital price tags is usually unencrypted. Accessing it only requires knowledge of the communication protocol used. Then a device like Flipper Zero, with a tool like TagTinker, can hack and manipulate a digital price tag.
Legal or Illegal? Wrong Question!
So far, manufacturers of such digital displays have only relied on the assumption that no one would ever figure out the protocol. But the project “Furrtek” has rendered this security mechanism completely obsolete.
Therefore, the question of whether an action is legal or illegal is the wrong question. Tech companies like Apple should instead question why an expensive iPhone was sold for months with such a security flaw and why an inconspicuous device like Flipper Zero is enough to crash it.
But that’s precisely why the device is so popular among digital security experts. It can be used to uncover such gaps. For those interested in radio technology and infrared, how Flipper Zero works, and what can be done with it: In this video there’s a detailed overview.