Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Combadges

Combadges may have a reputation for being used by Starfleet, but there are actually a ton of other alien societies and private citizens that use similar devices.

Most notably, the Klingon Empire and the Bajoran Militia both had combadges in the shape of their own insignias. The Klingons attached theirs to the side of one of their arms typically, and the Bajorans kept them on the left side of their chests (the side opposite of where Starfleet combadges go). Additionally, Cristóbal Rios from Star Trek: Picard had his own personal combadges with a custom emblem, which he provided to passengers aboard the La Sirena. There have also been dozens more alien badges seen in Trek that could be combadges or just simple insignias.

It's unclear whether the Federation was the first organisation to invent combadges or if some other alien empire had it before them, but by the 24th century the tech was commonplace all throughout the galaxy.