How to Write Your AtlasLinq Profile to an NFC Tag or Sticker
AtlasLinq doesn't require a physical card: on Android you can share phone-to-phone using the built-in NFC. But there are plenty of situations where you want a tag that shares your card on its own, and it is the one way to get a tap from any phone at all: a sticker on the back of your phone, a tag at your reception desk, or a card you hand out at a trade show booth. This guide walks through writing your AtlasLinq profile to an NFC tag, step by step.
What You Need
- A phone with NFC and the AtlasLinq app. Writing tags works on either platform, on an iPhone XS or later
- A blank, writable NFC tag or sticker. NTAG213, NTAG215, and NTAG216 are the common, widely compatible types
- Your AtlasLinq profile already set up and live
Any phone that taps the tag afterward will open your card; they don't need NFC enabled for sending, and they don't need the AtlasLinq app. The tag simply holds your profile's web link.
Which tag to buy
The three NTAG chips differ in one thing that matters here: how much they hold. NXP publishes the user memory as 144 bytes for NTAG213, 504 bytes for NTAG215, and 888 bytes for NTAG216.
| Chip | User memory | What fits |
|---|---|---|
| NTAG213 | 144 bytes | Your card link. Usually not the contact file alongside it. |
| NTAG215 | 504 bytes | Both, with room to spare. The sensible default. |
| NTAG216 | 888 bytes | Both, plus headroom you are unlikely to need. |
The next section explains why that middle column matters more than the price difference.
What actually gets written to the tag
AtlasLinq writes two things, not one: a contact record holding your details, and a link to your card. They do different jobs.
The contact record is what lets a phone offer to save you straight away, without opening a browser at all. The link is the copy that stays correct. Change your number next year and every tag you have ever written still resolves to the current version, because the details live at the other end of the link rather than on the sticker.
When a tag cannot hold both, the app checks the tag's capacity as it writes and drops the contact record, keeping the link. That is the right way round: a stale contact file stuck to a desk is worse than one extra tap. But it is also the practical argument for NTAG215 over NTAG213. A contact record carrying your name, title, company, phone and email runs to a couple of hundred bytes on its own, so 144 bytes will often take the link alone, while 504 bytes takes both comfortably.
If you buy the cheapest tags in bulk, nothing breaks. You just quietly get the one-tap-to-browser version rather than the save-contact-immediately version, and you will not notice unless you go looking.
How NFC Tag Writing Works
Writing to an NFC tag stores a small piece of data on the tag, in this case the URL of your AtlasLinq profile (for example, atlaslinq.com/share/yourname). When anyone taps their phone to the tag, their phone reads that URL and opens your card in the browser. Nothing is "installed" on their phone; the tag just points them to your page.
Step-by-Step: Writing Your Profile to a Tag
Step 1: Open your profile. Launch AtlasLinq and select the profile you want the tag to share.
Step 2: Choose the NFC write option. Use the app's NFC writing feature for the profile you selected. This prepares your profile's link to be written to a tag.
Step 3: Tap the tag. Hold the back of your phone against the blank NFC tag. Keep it still for a second or two until the app confirms the write succeeded. The exact NFC sweet spot varies by phone; it's usually near the top or center of the back.
Step 4: Test it. Lock your phone, unlock it, and tap it to the tag again (or use another phone). Your card should open in the browser. Always test before deploying a tag somewhere public.
On Essential the app allows 20 tag writes a month, which is more than enough for your own stickers. Pro removes the limit, which starts to matter when you are writing a batch for a stand.
What happens when someone taps your tag
This is the part worth understanding before you stick a tag to anything, because it is not identical on both platforms and the difference is not your fault.
Android. With NFC switched on, the phone reads the tag and offers to open your card. No app required, nothing to install.
iPhone. Apple supports background tag reading from the iPhone XS and XR onward, meaning the phone notices the tag by itself and shows a notification to tap. Models from the iPhone 7 through the X can still read NFC tags, but only with an app open to do the scanning. Background reading also needs the phone to have been unlocked at least once since it was switched on, and Apple only scans while the phone is actually in use, so a tag will not read against a locked handset sitting on a table.
In practice this means a tag at a booth works for most visitors and not quite all of them. Put a QR code next to it. The two cost nothing together and cover each other's gaps.
When a write fails
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| The tag is not NDEF compatible | It is not a standard data tag. Use an NTAG213, NTAG215 or NTAG216. |
| The tag is write-protected | It has already been locked read-only, by you or by the seller. Locking cannot be undone. |
| The message is too large for the tag | The tag is smaller than the card needs. See the capacity table above. |
| Nothing happens at all | Usually placement. The antenna is a specific spot on the back of the phone, not the whole panel. |
| It worked once, then stopped | Check whether the tag is on or near metal, which detunes the antenna. |
Where to Use NFC Tags
| Placement | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Back of your phone | Hand your phone over for a tap, or let people tap theirs to yours |
| Trade show booth | Visitors tap and walk away with your card, no staff needed |
| Reception desk or storefront | Unattended sharing for walk-in customers |
| Printed cards or table tents | A physical NFC business card that also works via the printed QR code |
Tips for Reliable Tags
- Avoid metal surfaces. NFC struggles when a tag is stuck directly to metal. Use tags designed for metal (with a ferrite layer) if you need to.
- Lock the tag if it's public. Many tags support a read-only lock so no one can overwrite your link. Only lock it once you've tested; locking is usually permanent.
- Update your profile, not the tag. Because the tag holds your profile URL (not the raw details), you can change your phone number, title, or links in the app any time and every tag stays current. This is the big advantage over a printed paper card.
NFC Tag vs. Tapping Phone-to-Phone
Phone-to-phone NFC is best for live, one-on-one networking. A written tag is best for unattended or repeated sharing, and for giving people something physical to tap. Most AtlasLinq users do both: tap directly when meeting someone, and keep a tag or sticker for booths, desks, and handouts.