Instagram has kicked off a global rollout of scannable QR codes for profiles in its mobile app for iPhone and iPad after launching the same feature in a limited fashion in Japan last year.
Both businesses and individual users can create their QR code via Instagram’s settings section and easily share it with customers and friends or save it to the device as an image.
People can then scan these codes with the stock Camera app or any third-party camera software which supports QR code scanning. Upon scanning a QR code, the user is instantly taken to an underlying URL, such as a business’s homepage or Instagram profile.
A restaurant might print a QR code to let people get to their Instagram account easily. “From there, people can see store hours, buy items or just follow the account,” The Verge explains.
As a result of this new feature, Instagram is deprecating Nametags entirely.
Nametags debuted on Instagram in 2018 Instagram as a customizable identification card that folks could only scan with the Instagram camera to get to your profile. On the downside, the Nametag feature required taking out the Instagram camera to access information so small wonder it’s now being phased out in favor of ubiquitous, frictionless QR codes.