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For the password management systems, see Keychain (Mac OS) and GNOME Keyring.
Keychain in art
A plastic charm keychain on a carabiner

A keychain or key chain is a small chain, usually made from metal or plastic, that connects a small item to a keyring. The length of a keychain allows an item to be used more easily than if connected directly to a keyring. Some keychains allow one or both ends the ability to rotate, keeping the keychain from becoming twisted, while the item is being used. A keychain can also be a connecting link between a keyring and the belt of an individual. It is usually employed by personnel whose job demands frequent use of keys, such as a security guard, prison officer, janitor, or retail store manager. The chain is often retractable, and therefore may be a nylon rope, instead of an actual metal chain. The chain ensures that the keys remain attached to the individual using them, makes accidental loss less likely, and saves on wear and tear on the pockets of the user.


A leather key fob on a keychain

Some spell checkers and dictionaries do not recognize the spelling "keychain," but separate the word into "key chain." Keychain collectors and many other people prefer to use it as a compound word ("keychain").

There are many other terms that all refer to keychain as well. These include key ring, key holder, key tag, and key fob.

Use of keychains[edit]

Keychains are one of the most common souvenir and advertising items. Keychains are commonly used to promote businesses. A standard advertising key chain will carry the businesses name and contact information and often a logo.

In the 1950s and 1960s, with the improvement of plastic manufacturing techniques, promotional items including keychains became unique. Businesses could place their names on promotional keychains that were three-dimensional for less expensive than the standard metal keychains.

Keychains are small and inexpensive enough to become promotional items for larger national companies that might give them out by the millions. For example, with the launch of a new movie or television show, those companies might partner with food companies to provide a character keychain in each box of cereal.

A souvenir sandal keychain from the Philippines

Keychains that currently hold keys are an item that is never long misplaced by the owner. Many keychains also offer functions that the owner wants easily accessible as well. These include an army knife, bottle opener, an electronic organizer, scissors, address book, family photos, nail clipper, pill case and even pepper spray. Modern cars often include a keychain that serves as a remote to lock/unlock the car or even start the engine. An electronic key finder is also a useful item found on many keys that will beep when summoned for quick finding when misplaced.[1]


A key can be added to a keyring by forcing an end of the loop open and sliding the key along the spiral.

A keyring or "split ring" is a ring that holds keys and other small items, which are sometimes connected to keychains. Other types of keyrings are made of leather, wood and rubber. Keyrings were invented in the 19th century.[citation needed] The most common form of the keyring is a single piece of metal in a 'double loop'. Either end of the loop can be pried open to allow a key to be inserted and slid along the spiral until it becomes wholly engaged onto the ring. Novelty carabiners are also commonly used as keyrings for ease of access and exchange. Often the keyring is adorned with a key fob for self-identification.

Other forms of rings may use a single loop of metal or plastic with a mechanism to open and securely close the loop.

Key fob[edit]

A wooden key fob made in Finland



A carabiner, USB flash drive, keyless entry system and Episcopalian membership token serving as key fobs.

Some retail establishments such as gasoline stations keep their bathrooms locked and customers must ask for the key from the attendant. In such cases, the keychain has a very large fob to make it difficult for customers to walk off with the key.


A key with a simple text label keychain

The costs of keychains vary widely depending on their purpose. Advertising keychains begin at only a few cents a piece to a few dollars each. They are normally purchased in large quantities often over 500 at a time.

Keychains are found in retail stores to represent things such as television shows, movies, video games, nostalgia, hobbies, interests and personalities. These keychains range from a dollar up to ten dollars and more.

Electronic keychains including games and small organizers start at a few dollars and can be up to 50 US dollars. Other keychain electronics including cameras, digital photo frames and USB drives start around ten USD and can go over 100 USD.

Souvenir keychains are one of the most popular keychains that sell. These are keychains that represent a trip or a location that a person is visiting. These most commonly range from under a dollar to ten dollars.

As a collectible item[edit]

The most popular focused keychain collections are advertising, souvenir, monument, popular characters and nostalgia-related items.[citation needed]

Collectors display and store their keychains in several different ways. Some collections are small enough that the collector can place all of their keychains on their standard key ring. Some larger collections can be stored and displayed on dowels, cork boards, tool racks, on large link chains, in display cases, hung on walls, displayed on Christmas trees. Some collections are large enough that entire rooms are dedicated to the keychain collection.[citation needed]

According to Guinness World Records, Brent Dixon of Georgia, United States currently holds the world record for the largest collection of keychains, at 41,418 non-duplicated ones.[3]

Unlike most collections, keychains don't hold their value as well as other collections. A standard keychain that was purchased for five dollars new may only be worth less than a dollar once it has been owned regardless of condition.

Keychain items[edit]

Miniature LED flashlight on a key chain.

Items commonly attached via a keychain or keyring include:

Access control key fobs[edit]



Telecommuters may also use an electronic device known as a key fob that provides one part of a three way match to log in over an unsecure network connection to a secure network. This kind of key fob may have a keypad on which the user must enter a PIN to retrieve an access code, or it could be a display-only device.

Computer keychains[edit]

By analogy to the physical object, the terms keychain and keyring are often used for software that stores cryptographic keys. The term keychain was first introduced in a series of IBM developerWorks articles.[citation needed] The term is used in GNU Privacy Guard to store known keys on a keyring.

Mac OS X uses a password storage system called Keychain.

A "keyring" is also the name of a password manager application working under the GNOME desktop manager (used for example in Ubuntu operating system). It is general term used in cryptography for a database of multiple keys or passwords.

See also[edit]

Security tokens from RSA Security designed as key fobs.


  1. ^ Loc8tor key finder
  2. ^ "fob - alphaDictionary * Free English On-line Dictionary". Retrieved 14 August 2012. 
  3. ^ "Largest Collection of Keychains". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 3 April 2011. 

External links[edit]

  • Media related to Key fobs at Wikimedia Commons
  • The dictionary definition of key fob at Wiktionary

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