Transferring or sharing content between two different platforms has always been a challenging task for the end-users, especially if they aren’t part of the Apple ecosystem.
Just to give you a perfect example of the same, recently, I came across an interesting piece of content while browsing the web on my PC. Thought of transferring this content onto my mobile and a lot of options popped out in my mind. These included the likes of sharing that content’s link via WhatsApp Web, mailing it to myself, or adding to it to the Bookmarks tab (using Chrome’s sync feature).
While all of them seem to be a viable approach, they weren’t among the most feasible ones as they required quite a few efforts. Then I decided to recheck Chrome’s experimental QR Code Scanner functionality and turned out it was finally live in the stable build.
So what exactly is this feature? Well, as is evident from its name, you could easily create a QR Code for any website that you visit via the Chrome browser. Once created, just pick up your device, scan the code and you shall directly be taken to that site. Furthermore, you could also save this QR Code locally and scan it as and when required.
Earlier this feature was part of the browser’s experimental section chrome://flags/#sharing-qr-code-generator but now it has made its way over to the stable build, both for the web and the mobile variant of Chrome.
Related: 7 Best Google Chrome Flags to Try in 2021!
So with that in mind, let’s check out sharing QR code from the chrome browser and its usage instructions —
Contents
Generate QR Code on Chrome Computer
Thankfully, we do not have to install a chrome extension for generating the sharing QR code in chrome. But, make sure that chrome is updated to the latest version for this feature to display.
Here are the required steps to generate a QR Code on Chrome Computer:
- Launch the Chrome browser on your PC and open the desired site.
- Click within the address bar.
A new QR code icon will appear next send to devices icon. - Click on the QR Code icon in the address bar.
Likewise, the URL of that page will also be displayed just beneath the QR Code. - Hit on the button.
The QR Code will be saved to the Downloads folder as an Image file having the PNG extension. The name of that file will be qrcode_websiteurl.png.
Generate QR Code on Chrome Android
Similar to its PC build, you could also create a QR code for any site directly from your android device. You can share this generated QR code using any social or communication app.
Here are the steps to generate QR code on Chrome Android:
- Open the Chrome app on your device.
- Tap on the
icon situated at the top right. - Select Share from the drop-down menu.
- Choose the QR Code option from the share sheet.
It will generate and bring up the QR code associated with that URL. - Hit the button.
The QR code file will be saved as a PNG image in the Downloads folder. It will be named chrome_qrcode_number.png.
Generate QR Code on Chrome iOS
Chrome for iOS does offer the sharing QR code generator just like chrome android. We can select the Generate QR code menu to allow sharing.
Here are the steps to generate and share QR code on Chrome iPhone or iPad:
- Launch the Google Chrome app on iOS.
- Open a website to generate and share a QR code.
- Tap on the
for sharing options. - Select the Create a QR code option menu from the list.
This will generate a QR code for the website page. - Hit on the button to share the QR code.
The generated QR code can be shared externally using any app and communication medium.
How to Scan Chrome QR Codes?
There are a plethora of third-party apps as well as sites that you could try out to scan these codes. Talking about their usage instructions, you just need to open that app/site, give it the required camera permissions, and point your device’s camera to that QR Code.
The scanning shall take a couple of seconds and the code’s embedded URL will be right in front of you. Just tap on it and it will take you to that website.
However, if you don’t wish to take the help of any app or site, then there’s another way out. You could directly scan the QR code from the Chrome browser itself.
Here are the steps to scan and open Chrome QR Codes:
- Launch the Chrome browser, and open any random site of your choice.
- Tap on for options menu list.
- Select the Share menu followed by the QR Code option.
- Switch the tab from Share to Scan from the top menu bar.
- Allow the Camera permissions and scan the QR code.
While this method calls for a few additional steps, but it’s a much secure one. This is because it isn’t generally advised to allow unknown third-party apps and sites to have access to your device’s camera. On the other hand, Chrome’s in-built scanner still stands as a much secure alternative.
Disable Generate QR Code in Chrome
UPDATE: this flag has been removed from the Chrome Flags and it’s no longer available. The QR code generator is now integrated into browser.
If you do not want the Generate QR Code icon or the feature to appear in Chrome, then you can disable the feature using the Chrome Flag. Visit the below page on your Chrome browser and set the status to Disabled.
chrome://flags/#sharing-qr-code-generator
Unfortunately, there is no option within the Chrome Settings page to toggle or switch off the QR Code generator feature. Currently, you can only rely on the chrome flag to remove Generate QR code from Chrome.
Bottom Line: Chrome QR Code for Page
On that note, we conclude the guide on how to use the new Generate QR Code feature in the Chrome browser. The lack of an inbuilt option to share URLs across devices always seemed to be a major missing piece of the otherwise perfect puzzle. And now that it has been put in place, Google seems to have check-marked another useful feature of the priority list.
With that said, creating the code via PC and then scanning it via mobile was quite easy to execute, but the same isn’t true when we switch roles. This is because it gets quite challenging to perfectly aligning the laptop’s webcam so that it could scan the QR Code displayed on the smartphone.
Related: How to Send Link to Connected Devices in Chrome Computer?
What are your views on the same? Are you considering giving this new addition to the browser a try? Or you have some other methods already lined up your sleeves?
Lastly, here are the recommended web browsers for your computer and mobile phone that you should give a try.
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How to switch it off? I don’t want a “Create QR code” icon in the address bar or on the right-click context menu.
Yet another example of Google deciding what is right for me!
Hi Reg, currently there is no chrome setting to toggle or switch off the Create QR code icon. However, you can utilize the flag: chrome://flags/#sharing-qr-code-generator and set the drop-down status to “Disabled” and relaunch the browser.
We have also added the section detailing the steps to remove QR Code feature from Chrome.
We think Google should add the option to disable the QR Code Generator feature under the Chrome Settings page.
HOW DO I REMOVE OR DELETE THIS QR CODE BS FROM MY COMPUTER.
Hello James, the QR code is now a built-in feature within Chrome browser that cannot be disabled.
Your instructions on how to disable the QR code generator is wrong. There is no such flag. Please update the article.
Hello, the flags have been removed since it was a temporary experiment. Now, the QR code is integrated into browser.
Man, I do not see it, where is it integrated now? It was so handy in the url bar, ah ok, got it, right click on page, and generate QR code, nice!
When will Google realize that it is poor form to force their idiotic nonsense on users.
A simple toggle would solve this, but somehow they’re too blinded by their “brilliance” to include one.