The invention relates to systems and methods to enable a mobile device to be used as a remote control, in order to control one or more remotely controllable objects. In possible embodiments of the invention, proximity-based (or other) remote controls include control authorization to enable the transfer or sharing of control between different remote controls being implemented on different mobile devices, in order to permit different users to transfer or share control of a same remotely controllable object, for example. In other possible embodiments of the invention, a proximity-based (or other) remote control uses control authentication to enable the pairing of a remote control implemented on a device and a remotely controllable object, for example. Various embodiments of control authority and control authentication are possible and anticipated by the invention to address a wide range of practical remote control applications and provide many benefits to users.