SEATTLE—
Amazon has received a patent for a new kind of gift card with a purpose some say is distasteful — it allows the gift giver the ability to track and limit how the card is used.
Geekwire.com reported Tuesday that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has approved Amazon’s "customizing gift instrument experiences for recipients" patent.
In what the technology website describes as the "creepistst gift card ever," buyers will be able to select from a long list of limitations on what the card can buy on Amazon’s online mega store.
After giving someone the gift card, buyers could even see what it has been used to purchase.
There is no word on if or when the card, Geekwire describes as "parental controls for gift cards," will be rolled out.
