SYDNEY — One entrepreneur from Melbourne is putting his health on the line for the love of his new app.

Chris Koch ate a device inside a tablet at 12 p.m. local time on Monday as part of a competition to promote his business, Pop!, to prove you can keep track of your data anywhere. Even inside his stomach.

Interactive software company Snepo are behind the tablet, which houses a system on a chip (SOC) by RFdigital that includes a Bluetooth low energy component and a processor. Snepo’s founder Ben Moir told Mashable the company added 32MB of memory and additional electronics to extend its battery life. The pill-like device uses an Arduino controller and is encased in polyurethane, a material that is sometimes used to make feeding tubes and other medical products, but is not affected by stomach acid.

Snepo were also behind a tech-powered experiment in 2013 that used vibrating lingerie by Durex Australia called Fundawear.

Koch and his business partner, Chad Stephens, created the Pop! app, which lets you store, share and manage your personal data online. The word data these days normally freaks a normal punter out and has them reaching for the cloud, but this app allows you to be in total control of your information.

Pop! doesn’t own your data, it is simply stored on your phone within the app and can be wiped in a second’s notice through the company’s website. The app also helps you keep your details up to date with businesses you deal with, such as your bank or telephone company, so that your mail isn’t going to five of your last rental addresses.

Protected by a PIN code, the app is a personal data wallet that allows users to auto-fill online forms with one click, while also keeping track of what companies and websites have access to your data.

But what does eating computer hardware (35 millimeters by 18 millimeters, bigger than any multi-vitamin) have to do with this?

“It is about being able to send your data to any location, and know exactly where it is gone,” Koch told Mashable.

When planning the stunt, the guys posed the question: “What is the most obscure place you could send you information and still know what you gave and where it is?” The answer: Inside me.

And so the first competition inside a human being was born. Contestant’s data will be sent to the tablet inside Koch, who can be watched on a live stream as the tablet makes its way through his system.

Koch underwent an x-ray on Monday, so users could see where the tablet holding their data is and make sure it remains safe.

Using vinegar and olive oil to help the smart pill go down, Koch said it was easier to swallow than expected, after he struggled on a practice run earlier in the week.

“I had actually practiced on a chocolate egg that was much smaller and that didn’t feel so good when it went down, so I was shitting myself for the actual pill,” he said. “However when I actually swallowed it, it went down easier that I was expecting. It kind of feels like something is sitting at the very top of my stomach right now, but it could be my mind playing tricks.”

@chriskoch_pop @Pop_HQ So freakin’ proud you guys made this crazy idea happen. And very happy you didn’t chock to death #poptheboss

— Anna College (@AnnaSwinyNoMore) October 20, 2014

@Pop_HQ All the best with our data. #poptheboss

— Scott Bourke (@scottbourke) October 20, 2014

Koch said that before he swallowed the smart pill he wasn’t fearful for his life, but he was concerned about the impact any health implications could have on his family.

“When the idea first got thrown out there, there was zero fear. As the days get closer and my mum gets more petrified, there are more nerves,” he said. “The first is what could go wrong and secondly is my family and what they might go through.”

“I don’t think my life will be lost, but there could be complications that could involve major surgery. On the flip side, if something happens [it means] more downloads.”

Now that is taking one for the team.

Koch spoke to Dr. Paul Marks about his plan before the stunt, who absolutely did not recommend the entrepreneur go ahead with the eating of the device.

Marks said there is a 5% chance the tablet could get stuck on its journey through the body.

The main risk areas included the airways, the junction of the gullet and the stomach, or in the small or large bowel. A paramedic would be on standby as the risky stunt took place. In the airways and the stomach, the pill may be able to be vomited up but otherwise emergency surgery would be needed to retrieve the object.

It’s a high-risk tactic to promote your product.

These guys are used to living large. The pair sold their first business, 1Form, to REA Group earlier this year for a cool $15 million. 1Form allowed potential renters to autofill their information into tenancy applications, instead of entering the same information over and over again.

The idea for Pop! was born from the 1Form concept.

“We always wanted to take that concept to the world –- so no one has to repeat that data over and over instantly again,” Koch said. “We wanted a way to do it without storing it in the cloud, as people maybe didn’t feel comfortable with that.”

Koch said the app would appeal consumers, as the company doesn’t store any data. It was something he kept as a priority. The business instead makes money by charging companies for your information updates — which you have control of sending with the click of a button.

“That’s the thing I really love about our business. We have a very transparent business model where we can leverage the tech to make revenue from companies. Our users know what is going on, we never need to charge them.”

Pop! is free and available on iOS and Android.

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