QR code basics

What a QR code is, how it works, why you would use one — and the cases where you shouldn't.

• Do QR codes expire?A static QR code never expires — the destination is encoded in the pattern, so nothing has to keep running. A dynamic QR code expires when the provider's…
• How do QR codes work?A scanner finds the three corner squares, works out the code's grid and orientation, samples every cell as black or white, reads the format bits to learn…
• Static vs dynamic QR codesA static QR code contains its destination directly, so it never expires and cannot be tracked or edited. A dynamic code contains a short link that…
• What is a QR code?A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that stores data as a grid of black and white squares. A camera reads the pattern and recovers the original text —…
• When not to use a QR codeDo not use a QR code where the audience is moving, where a tappable link already exists, where it would be the only route to essential information, or…
• Why use a QR code?A QR code is worth using when it removes typing at a moment when typing is the obstacle: joining WiFi, paying at a counter, opening a menu, saving a…
• Are QR codes still relevant?Yes, and more so than during the pandemic peak. The difference is that usage has shifted from menus to payments, packaging and identity: UPI in India and…
• QR code vs barcodeA traditional barcode stores about 20 characters in one dimension and must be scanned in roughly the right orientation. A QR code stores up to 2,953 bytes…
• QR code vs NFCA QR code is printed and costs nothing per item; NFC needs a chip in every object and costs cents to dollars each. NFC is faster and needs no camera, but…
• The history of QR codesQR codes were invented in 1994 by a team led by Masahiro Hara at Denso Wave, a Toyota subsidiary, to track car parts faster than barcodes allowed. Denso…