Why Google Chrome Is Getting a QR Code Generator

Google’s working on another way to send websites from the desktop to mobile devices, and it all comes down to a quick QR code generator.

Technically, what Google wants is for Chrome browser to generate a QR code for any specific page when the user requests it, with the code pointing a mobile device to that page when it’s scanned with the camera.

This is obviously an approach that’s not too hard to implement, and TechDows has discovered that an early version of this feature is already available in the browser, albeit for the time being it doesn’t seem to work.

The good news is that Google seemingly wants to make the QR code useful not only for users who quickly want to load a specific page on mobile devices, but also for those who want to send the same code via email or messaging apps.

Already in testing

So Google is also working on an option to download the QR code to the device and then send it to someone else using a variety of methods, other than the standard direct sharing that you do when scanning the code with your own phone.

The option to generate the QR code will be added to the Google Chrome browser menu, albeit there’s a chance Google would add it to the page context menu too. This is something that remains to be seen, however, especially as the feature overall is still in its early days and a lot could change by the time it receives the go-ahead.

Needless to say, the QR code generator will make its way to Google Chrome on all desktop platforms, including not only Windows, but also Mac, Linux, and ChromeOS, with the new option to be added to the browser on all these operating systems.

Both Android phones and iPhones are likely to be able to use the sharing feature since the scanning itself can be down with the built-in camera app or other third-party alternatives.