- Please first explain how the QR code and the QR code generator are related to the security of anyone or anything.
- Second, why would anyone use a QR code to collect someone's data? A QR code is not a device, but a tool to make something easily machine-readable, and every machine can read encrypted data as well as unencrypted data. A QR code can be compared to the alphabet, and in terms of security, it makes no difference whether something is written using the Arabic alphabet or, for example, Cyrillic.
- And finally, you can generate and read any QR codes on your local computer or any system, and no third party is not be involved in it at all and in any way.
I will do my best to answer your questions despite the tone that was completely unnecessary.
So, talking about security, if you scan an untrustworthy QR code, cybercriminals can get your credit card details, to begin with. Also, one can embed any type of malware into a QR code, and once the person scans it, well, I assume you can imagine the possible outcomes. Back in February, a QR code generator MyQRcode, popular at the time, leaked a vast amount of users' personal data in a major security breach. These are some of the reasons why when looking for a generator, you would want it to be SOC 2 Type 1 and preferably also SOC 2 Type 2 certified. Furthermore, it wouldn't hurt if there is multi-factor authentication, URL-based phishing detection, SSO login, and data encryption, for example.
Regarding the question - Why would anyone use a QR code to collect someone's data? - it requires a very long answer including the explanation of many different digital marketing strategies and building a client database. I will keep it short though. So, many QR code generators offer tracking and analytics features so that a business can track, for example, a number of unique scans, location, device, time of scanning, and user demographics. Once you have this data, you can analyze it and adjust and personalize your marketing campaigns. There is a difference though between QR code generators, just like when it comes to security, in the sense of how advanced these features are, if there are integrations available, and so on.
As for this: "you can generate and read any QR codes on your local computer" - almost everything related to QR codes happens in an online world, far from a local computer and there are (potentially) malicious third parties (public or hidden) all around. In fact, there are even tools called QR code analyzers because "fake QR codes and the ongoing threat of phishing represents 40% of all cyber threats".
I hope this answers your questions, but you can always read more about it. There are so many ways to use QR codes in business that won't even list them. Also, there are some cool ways to use them in your personal life, for example, to share Wi-fi access with your guests, for shopping lists, recipes, and much more.
