Call me paranoid if you like, but when I get a receipt or other docket which contains information about what I bought, when, where and also some details of my credit card, I like to tear it up before throwing it in a bin (or bins).
I know that DARPA can now reassemble thoroughly shredded documents automatically, but my tearing by hand must surely make it significantly harder for a thief to reassemble and misuse my personal data.
Today’s invention is therefore a printer for receipts which provides all the same information as usual, but which prints this in locations which change from occasion to occasion.
The printer also understands that it’s a good idea to tear across each word of significance at some point along its length.
This allows it to overprint a series of suggested tearlines for a receipt, which optimise the meaninglessness of data on any given fragment.
This could be combined with foldlines which would be employed before the tearing began in order to make reassembly of the pieces even more difficult.
