Do Away With Keys: New App Will Unlock Your Doors

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Your smartphone is becoming the most important thing you carry around.

Not only does it connect you with your family and friends, but you can bank with it, buy with it, and find just about anything in seconds with it.

So could your phone one day replace your keys and your wallet?

A lock made by a company called "August" essentially allows you and anyone you register to open your door with an app.

Your friends, family, or even the plumber could download the app, you could give them a code, and they get in.

You can even have that code expire, meaning they'll only be able to access the door for a limited time.

For as cool as the technology is, security experts are concerned.

First – mobile phones are hackable.

Second – if you're hacked, you just invited the whole world into your home.

"The population in the planet can now get into your pocket and wallet, electronically from China or some other place. When you put your information in any computer device that is connected to the internet then you're talking about the entire world potentially accessing that thing," security expert Silka Gonzalez says.

In other words, high-tech crooks might now have the key to your door before they even get there.

Some are likening the app to credit cards, the benefits outweigh the risks.

Experts say you can minimize the risks by using things like thumbprints and passwords to protect your phone.

The "August" lock costs about 250-dollars, and another 250-dollars to install it.

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