A method for Near Field Communication (NFC) based interactions can be implemented by a device when it is placed near an NFC tag and receives an electromagnetic signal associated with the NFC tag. The device retrieves the identifier of the NFC tag from the electromagnetic signal and, based on the identifier, the device can generate a first command. Furthermore, the device can identify a qualifying event, such as a predetermined orientation of the device. The device then generates a second command in response to the identification of the qualifying event. Each of the first and second command can cause a change in settings of the device, switching an operating mode of the device, activating/deactivating an application, enabling/disabling a feature of an application, and sending an instruction to a remote electronic device.