Instagram, here comes the QR Code to share your profile

Share your Instagram profile through a QR Code: here's what it is and how it works

There will be no need to open Instagram to find a profile, just frame the QR code that the account has generated for you. This is the new feature introduced by the social network that was born as an evolution of the Nametag, which could only be scanned by the camera of the Instagram app.

The new feature was launched last year in Japan and has now been extended worldwide. To easily share your profile, going to the app's settings will allow you to generate a QR Code that can be customized in colors, with emoji or funny selfies to send to your contacts. The feature was designed especially for businesses, which will be able to share the QR Code or print it and allow their customers to easily find the Instagram accounts associated with the brand, including opening hours or the ability to shop and follow the profile.

Instagram, how the QR Code works

To generate the QR Code you need to open the Instagram app, go to Settings and then select the item QR Code. A screen will open showing the QR Code associated with your profile, which can be customized in three modes: Emoji, Selfie or Color. Clicking on the screen will open up options: for example, you can change the background emoji, the color scale and the decorations of the selfie, choosing from a mustache, funny glasses and even a unicorn donut. Once the code has been generated, clicking on the share symbol in the top right corner will allow you to send it to whomever you wish. Also, by opening the QR Code section, you'll be able to select "Scan Code" and from the app open the QR Codes that are shared with you.

Instagram, why use a QR Code

The introduction of the QR Code follows on the heels of the Nametag released for Instagram's app in 2018. The goal of the Nametag was to create a sort of business card for one's profile, so people could follow and find it without having to type the name into the search bar. The new QR Code feature is similar to the Nametag, but the key difference is that the code thus generated can also be opened by third-party apps that specialize in reading these codes and not only by Instagram's built-in camera. The feature will prove particularly useful for businesses, which with a simple QR Code will be able to be recognizable, get their followers and share information related to the brand, the sale of products and services or keep interested customers updated.