Such tapes are generally low voltage and safe for skin to touch but can be shorted by fine metal objects.

Both coated and uncoated LED tapes have a two sided adhesive backing to stick to walls, desks, doors, etc.

[5] LED strip lights most commonly operate on 12 or 24 volts of direct current from a power supply, sometimes referred to as a driver.

These have the advantages of being usable in much longer single runs without a brightness drop along the length, but are less flexible and heavier due to higher voltage and current ratings and thick coatings for shock safety and high IP ratings in their intended outdoor positions, with limited cut points.

The most common PCB designs use multiple parallel circuits consisting of passive dropper resistors in series with a certain number of LED SMDs, to operate at a certain current and power level with the expected input voltage.

These allow the construction of LED strips which wash surfaces within less space or accent edge profiles such as signage.

The ability to power strip lights off of a USB device or battery pack makes them extremely portable.

During the early 2020s, LED strip lights gained popularity among users on the social media platform TikTok.