How to scan a QR code with your phone

The humble QR (or Quick Response) codification has go ubiquitous. Invented backmost successful the 1990s to scan car parts, the barcodes got a popularity boost during the pandemic erstwhile touchless tech became prioritized, and they’re present a regular portion of regular life.

You’ll find them deployed to assistance you bid food, link to Wi-Fi, store online, entree tickets, beryllium your identity, and overmuch much besides. They tin either store accusation (about 3KB’s worth), oregon redirect you determination (like a website oregon an app page).

If you travel crossed a QR codification you privation to read, you’ve got everything you request close connected your phone.

How QR codes enactment

QR codes incorporate a tiny magnitude of data, typically nether a 100 alphanumeric characters for the codes you’ll astir often spot time to time — though QR codes tin get larger and much analyzable if much accusation needs to beryllium stored. They tin besides person mistake correction built in, which adds to the size but means they’ll inactive enactment if portion of the codification is obscured oregon damaged.

A telephone camera oregon different scanning instrumentality tin work the accusation successful a QR code, with the assistance of the 3 finder patterns astatine the corners: They archer the scanner wherever the QR codification is, however large it is, …

Read the afloat communicative astatine The Verge.