Do you use QR codes or do you avoid them?

[kimlockhartga@beige.party]

@JoBlakely Only to check in for a vaccine. They make it hell if you say you don't have your phone with you.

[wcbdata@vis.social]

@JoBlakely I usually check to see if they're tracking links or just an encoded URL before using. I avoid trackers - especially big corporate trackers - like the plague. I also develop a rash whenever someone sends me an email with a QR code in it. Yeesh.

[cherrybombspice@mastodon.sdf.org]

@JoBlakely If I must I only use QR codes I trust which is super rarely. There's so many ways to get hacked, I prefer not to risk it.

[softicecreamlesley@famichiki.jp]

@JoBlakely QR codes are wonderful for many purposes but I prefer to order my food from a real, live person.

[joblakely@mastodon.social]

@softicecreamlesley
What if it was on an artists business postcard, or zine directing you to the artists website or similar?

[joblakely@mastodon.social]

It seems that so far, regardless I have to print the website in text. So is there any benefit to using a QR code?

[softicecreamlesley@famichiki.jp]

@JoBlakely Of course. Anything is better than typing in a URL. I own an English school in Japan and using QR codes to help my students access what they need has been a really game changer.

Also, I have a QR code on a poster in the front window of my school that interested people can scan to access our website.

[softicecreamlesley@famichiki.jp]

@JoBlakely QR codes were invented in my prefecture by Denso corporation.

[joblakely@mastodon.social]

@softicecreamlesley thank you! This is good info to know and consider.

[joblakely@mastodon.social]

@softicecreamlesley cool!!

[ainmosni@social.ainmosni.eu]

@JoBlakely voted yes, but the real answer is "it depends". I don't get the hate for them though.

[dch@bsd.network]

@JoBlakely despite my massive concerns these are heavily used in Austria on bills and invoices - the link can be scanned in your bank app and it makes transfer super easy. Far too easy, with no real validation.

[mira@outerheaven.club]

@JoBlakely@mastodon.social that's a very vague question. there are tonnes of uses for QR codes, some good, some bad.

good: exchanging URLs or contact information between two devices

bad: tracking people, replacing public signage

[justin@mastodon.tacoma.community]

@JoBlakely
I go as far as to educate those who have them up on the dangers of them.

[weddige@gruene.social]

@Frantasaur @JoBlakely tbh. QR codes are not more of a risk than a printed URL. They have been used in demonstrations to scare people, but I would classify these demonstrations itself almost as a scam. They usually are based on the implicit assumption, that it would be more secure to copy the URL by hand, which it isn't. Do not rely on recognising phishy URLs to be safe online!

TL;DR QR codes are fine; don't trust any website you got from a flyer blindly.

[trashheap@tech.lgbt]

@JoBlakely I use them, when it makes sense to use them. When they occur in print media or signage. I rarely or never use them, when they are on a website, outside of setting up 2fa.

EDIT: I also use binary eye on android for QR code scanning, in part because it makes it easy to inspect the URL before launching a web browser or app.

[weddige@gruene.social]

@JoBlakely less risk of mistyping and accessibility for people struggling typing.

[biped808@mastodon.social]

@JoBlakely If I trust the source, I use them. A lot of colleges and universities seem to rely on them. I encounter them often as a student and a librarian. Museums and other businesses (restaurants, parking lots, etc.) use them a lot as well. But out in the wild, if I just saw a random code, I wouldn’t interact with it.

[joblakely@mastodon.social]

@weddige @Frantasaur
Yeah, that was what I figured too.
You just need to have some discernment going to any site. Even then there is always some, often significant, risk.

[joblakely@mastodon.social]

@weddige thank you. I figured there were accessibility benefits, and even maybe less risk of going to the wrong or phishing site by accident.