QR codes are almost 30 years old, but they're only recently enjoying a renaissance (复兴). For years, they were inconvenient and confusing, seen as a less-useful form of bar code. Now, QR code myths accompanied the rapid rise of QR codes, and these are still making a hit online.
Payment code, business card code, health code, campus code, ride-sharing code…QR codes have entered every corner of Chinese life. During the COVID-19, about 140 billion QR codes were used on WeChat alone. That's just from one QR code payment system in one country. What about others in different parts of the globe? In the US, 59%of Statista survey respondents felt that QR codes would become a permanent element of using their mobile phones in the future.
Some people are hesitant to scan a QR code, thinking that it could steal their private information or that it would leave bad software on their devices. But just like how the 5G rumors have come and gone, it's high time that we broke these myths, so those who are misguided will fully understand the benefits of QR codes.
Can hackers "hijack" a QR code so it would lead to a pirated (盗版的) site instead？While dynamic QR codes are editable, only their creators can change their landing page on the QR code generator's dashboard. Hackers would need the creator's log-in password to access the dashboard and change the QR code's destination, and they cannot easily steal that information. Also, each QR code has a unique pattern that makes it impossible for anyone to steal it and change its destination link.
This led to the idea that the QR codes are "80%consumed"and that by 2025, people can no longer create new ones since all the possible patterns would have been used by then.
Will the QR codes that drive a large part of China's economy be used up? The answer is: yes. But there is always some way to solve this issue.
