Can QR codes be exhausted?

Using a QR code is very simple: Just scan with the image sensor on the phone camera, the application will convert the code into binary form and display information or perform pre-programmed actions.

However, recently, there have been rumors circulating about the impending 'doomsday' in the technology world: That is when QR codes will soon be used up. So can this happen or not?

Are we running out of QR codes?

First, let's learn about the origin of QR codes. QR Codes (QR Code - short for Quick Response Code) were invented in Japan in 1994 and since then, they have been known for containing links to websites. However, they can contain almost any information you want to include, not just web addresses. Depending on the QR code standard you are using, you can store around 3KB of data in one code. If you want, you can store entire files or apps inside the QR code (though you'll need a lot of paper to print it all).

QR codes were first recognized as an international standard in 2000. Denso Wave is currently the company that holds the patent on QR code technology, as is the fact that everyone around the world can use this type of QR code. This code is completely free, only needs to be used according to ISO/JIS standards.

Returning to the question, can QR codes be exhausted? Simply put, no, the world is not facing a QR code shortage. They are not a finite resource. In fact, QR codes are not a resource either. They are just a way of storing and displaying data, just like a UPC barcode is a way of displaying a set of numbers. Both QR codes and barcodes are designed to be read easily, accurately, and quickly by computers.

The truth is that although QR codes are limited in the amount of data they can hold, there is no limit to the number of times you can generate the code. Even if you somehow managed to create QR codes for every combination of data they might contain, people could still continue to create and use them. QR codes will continue to work even if someone, somewhere, has created the same code before.

Can QR codes be exhausted? Picture 1

Where do rumors of QR code shortages come from?

This rumor started as a joke on social network X. A post on year 2025". This meme has attracted a lot of attention and rubbed many people the wrong way.

Today, there are forms of data that we are technically at risk of running out of. For example, IP addresses in the traditional IPv4 format are a finite resource. These addresses are used to uniquely identify devices connected to the Internet so that every device can be found and communicate reliably. IPv4's 32-bit format creates a pool of addresses that may not be large enough to account for every single device in existence, at least at the rate the Internet is growing. IPv6 was created to solve this problem, creating a pool that is essentially 1,000 times larger.

However, with QR codes, you can create them freely as you like. QR codes are not used as unique addresses for telecommunications, so duplicates do not cause problems like duplicate IP addresses.

Kareem Winters

Update 06 August 2024