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QR code

A QR code, or Quick Response code, is a type of two-dimensional barcode that stores data in a pattern of squares that a camera or other digital device can read.

In plain English

It is a machine-readable code made from small squares arranged across both width and height, not just in a single line. A camera or another digital device can scan that square pattern to read the data stored in it.

In context

Here, "QR code" names the square patterned image on the authenticator-app enrollment screen that a camera or other digital device can read.

Situation
Setting passwords, multifactor authentication, recovery codes, and trusted devices
What it communicates
labels the scannable setup image on the authenticator-app enrollment screen

Meaning limits

The term itself does not say what exact data the code contains or what happens after it is read.

Examples

“Instead of a striped barcode, the ticket showed a QR code made of tiny black squares.”

Core meaning

“On the authenticator app’s enrollment screen, the camera paused over the QR code in the centre.”

In context