How to Scan QR Codes on Android

Jul. 19, 2024



The digitalization of the world has led to common things around us being digitalized, even when they would’ve worked in their existing form just fine. From restaurant menus to payment methods and accessing brochures all require you to scan a QR code to access them. Thankfully, there are many ways to scan QR codes on Android. Here’s how to do it.

Method 1: Scan QR Codes Using Google Lens

Method 1: Scan QR Codes Using Google Lens

Google Lensis a great piece of software that makes visual searches a piece of cake. It can do your homework or translate in real-time, alongside the ability to be able to scan a QR code. Lens comes preinstalled on most modern Android devices, and here’s how to use Google Lens to scan a QR code.

All Android phones come with different camera apps depending on the manufacturer. Most of these camera apps have built-in QR code scanners and can identify a QR code as soon as you point the camera towards one. You can do this on Google Pixel phones as well as devices from Samsung, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Xiaomi, Vivo, and iQOO.

Most Android phones come with lock screen shortcuts. You can add up to two shortcuts on your lock screen to quickly launch, let’s say, Camera or Wallet. You can also add a shortcut to scan QR codes directly from the lock screen.

Not all of us have modern Android phones, and those who still use decades-old Android devices may appreciate a lightweight QR code scanner that gets the job done. While downloading one from the Play Store is pretty easy, we suggest against doing so as they might be a threat to privacy. Hence, here’s an open-source app called SecScanQRthat you can use without any worries. The app is available on F-Droid.

And those are all the ways you can scan QR codes on Android. The first two methods can be accessed on almost all Android devices, whereas the third one might not work on some phones. If you have an ancient Android device, the fourth method will work wonders.