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Without cheating :)
1. There is a built-in scanner app that can only be opened from the lock screen by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and clicking on its icon; I also have a dedicated "barcode scanner" app because I couldn't be bothered to lock my phone to scan a QR code; I can also use Google Lens by bringing up the Google Assistant and use it to scan the QR code
2. This week -
@duckWit Well, dunno what scanner apps you have but mine will just display the URL and not open it until I tap it. BUT what you are saying is 100% true for NFC tags... but then again - you can have an application that overrides all NFC intents and just displays the stored data
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And yes, that same risk exists for any kind of link on the web, not just those originating from QR codes. However, with QR codes in general it's easier to approach them with your guard down. You're probably not going to click a malicious link unless you are on a shady website or on a website that has ties to one. You can innocently scan a QR code while riding a train or a bus, not thinking you are in shady territory.
Anyway, most of them are probably harmless, and I acknowledge that it's my paranoia doing most of the speaking here. I rarely scan them. -
thank you all for your answers! I guess more people use them than I thought!
my experience has always been that any information in the QR is also right next to it in plaintext, so it's never been necessary. and every link I've ever scanned (like 3 ever, so not a large sampleset admittedly) was some weird, complicated redirect chain for trackers and analytics. no thanks. and then next to it they have the real domain written.
didn't realize actual human beings get actual benefits from them. just assumed capitalism thought it would eventually catch on if they just push hard enough. -
@deadPix3l I rarely use them as well. But sometimes it's useful if they're used correctly, which like you said, they often aren't.
I've had to use them back when I was in high school for class. It'd give you instructions on how to solve that "station" and the first group to solve all stations won. Or some bullshit like that lol -
1. The barcode scanner app on F-Droid. Sometimes I find my phone has the function built-in but only when I don't need it, meh...
2. To save my boarding pass to the phone, to connect to a wifi network, to send text from my computer to my phone, to scan them when I see one in the street and I expect a joke...
inspired by another rant. quick questions!
1. without checking, how do you scan a QR code on your phone? does it have a built-in setting? does it require an app? do you have it?
2. when was the last time you scanned a QR code?
my guess for most people is 1. idk. maybe it's there. maybe not. 2. haven't.
so why are they fucking everywhere? on every advertisment, receipt, payment terminal, etc.
I have nothing against QR. it's a great thing, and would be super useful if I didn't have to go out of my way to get a third party app just to scan it. but it makes me curious: is it this inconvenient for everyone? why are they all over the place? I've literally never seen someone scan one, and many people I know don't even know what it is!
rant
who does that
how did this even happen?
they're everywhere
qr codes