There are plenty of ways to share links from Google Chrome on Android. You can copy a URL or share it directly with another app. But it’s always good to have more options, and one such option is QR codes.
A QR code is a type of barcode that contains information that can be revealed when scanned by a QR code reader. They can be used to store various bits of information, including URLs.
In the example of the Chrome browser, the generated QR code links to the URL you’re sharing. You could hold up the QR code for a friend to scan or download it for other purposes. Let’s get started.
To use the QR code sharing feature in Google Chrome on Android, we’ll need to enable a couple of feature flags. Enabling these flags will not alter your browsing experience, but know that, at the time of writing, the feature is experimental. Enabling flags might cause issues down the road.
Open the “Chrome” app on your Android phone or tablet and type chrome://flags in the address bar.
Next, in the search bar on the “Chrome Flags” page, enter “Sharing Hub.” Switch the “Chrome Sharing Hub” flag from “Default” to “Enabled.”
Before you relaunch Chrome, type “QR Code” in the search box. Switch the “Chrome Share QRCodes” flag to “Enabled.”
Now tap “Relaunch” to put the changes into effect.
With Google Chrome back open, go to the webpage you’d like to share with a QR code. Once there, tap the address bar and select the share icon.
The “Share Sheet” will pop up from the bottom of the screen. At the top of the sheet will be a “QR Code” option. Tap it.
The QR code will be generated and displayed on your screen. You can now let people scan this or tap “Download” to save the QR code to your device and use it elsewhere.
You’ll also notice there is a “Scan” tab at the top of this screen. This method also works as an easy way to open up a QR code scanner (other than opening your phone or tablet’s camera app).
That’s all there is to it. A QR code and scanner are now just a few taps away in your Android web browser whenever you need them.
