QR code

To store data efficiently, QR codes use four standardized modes of encoding: Compared to standard UPC barcodes, the QR labeling system was applied beyond the automobile industry because of faster reading of the optical image and greater data-storage capacity in applications such as product tracking, item identification, time tracking, document management, and general marketing.

[6][7][8] The initial alternating-square design presented by the team of researchers, headed by Masahiro Hara, was influenced by the black counters and the white counters played on a Go board;[9] the pattern of the position detection markers was determined by finding the least-used sequence of alternating black-white areas on printed matter, which was found to be (1:1:3:1:1).

Japan's NTT DoCoMo has established de facto standards for the encoding of URLs, contact information, and several other data types.

QR code has become a focus of advertising strategy, since it provides a way to access a brand's website more quickly than by manually entering a URL.

[23][24] Beyond mere convenience to the consumer, the importance of this capability is that it increases the conversion rate: the chance that contact with the advertisement will convert to a sale.

[citation needed] Examples of marketing include where a company's discounted and percent discount can be captured using a QR code decoder that is a mobile app, or storing a company's information such as address and related information alongside its alpha-numeric text data as can be seen in telephone directory yellow pages.

[26] QR codes storing addresses and URLs may appear in magazines, on signs, on buses, on business cards, or on almost any object about which users might want information.

In 2008, a Japanese stonemason announced plans to engrave QR codes on gravestones, allowing visitors to view information about the deceased, and family members to keep track of visits.

In June 2011, The Royal Dutch Mint (Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt) issued the world's first official coin with a QR code to celebrate the centenary of its current building and premises.

It contains a QR code in its design which, when scanned with an internet-enabled mobile device, goes to the official Bank of Ghana website.

In September 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched the eponymously named BharatQR, a common QR code jointly developed by all the four major card payment companies – National Payments Corporation of India that runs RuPay cards along with Mastercard, Visa, and American Express.

[51][52] In 2013, the European Payment Council provided guidelines for the EPC QR code enabling SCT initiation within the Eurozone.

This allows for various banking apps to facilitate payments between multiple customers and a merchant that displays a single QR code.

[62] This application has grown especially since the need for social distancing during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic prompted reduced contact between service staff and customers.

Sometimes these programs are accessed with an app that is loaded onto a phone and includes a process triggered by a QR code scan.

[73] A higher security level can be attained by embedding a digital watermark or copy detection pattern into the image of the QR code.

Different studies have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of QR codes as a means of conveying labelling information and their use as part of a food traceability system.

[76] If QR codes are serialised, consumers can access a web page showing the supply chain for each ingredient, as well as information specific to each related batch, including meat processors and manufacturers, which helps address the concerns they have about the origin of their food.

Restaurants replaced paper or laminated plastic menus with QR code decals on the table, which opened an online version of the menu.

In Australia, patrons were required to scan QR codes at shops, clubs, supermarkets, and other service and retail establishments on entry to assist contact tracing.

The following table lists the approximate error correction capability at each of the four levels: In larger QR symbols, the message is broken up into several Reed–Solomon code blocks.

[83][84] It is also possible to design artistic QR codes without reducing the error correction capacity by manipulating the underlying mathematical constructs.

The data is structured for the needs of users who are blind or partially sighted and offers larger text or audio output.

It can read QR codes from a metre away, activating the smartphone's accessibility features like VoiceOver to announce product details.

[98] Denso Wave owns a number of patents on QR code technology, but has chosen to exercise them in a limited fashion.

[98] In order to promote widespread usage of the technology Denso Wave chose to waive its rights to a key patent in its possession for standardized codes only.

In the case of no software exploits, malicious QR codes combined with a permissive reader can still put a computer's contents and user's privacy at risk.

[106][failed verification][107] On a smartphone, the reader's permissions may allow use of the camera, full Internet access, read/write contact data, GPS, read browser history, read/write local storage, and global system changes.

Risks include linking to dangerous web sites with browser exploits, enabling the microphone/camera/GPS, and then streaming those feeds to a remote server, analysis of sensitive data (passwords, files, contacts, transactions),[111] and sending email/SMS/IM messages or packets for DDoS as part of a botnet, corrupting privacy settings, stealing identity,[112] and even containing malicious logic themselves such as JavaScript[113] or a virus.

[105] QR codes have also been linked to scams in which stickers are placed on parking meters and other devices, posing as quick payment options, as seen in Austin, San Antonio and Boston, among other cities across the United States and Australia.