this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
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Does anybody configure their phone to automatically scan photos for QR codes and visit the links?
When my phone's barcode reader app sees a web link, it fetches the page's title to display next to the actual link. So it is going to that web server and fetching resources by itself. Even though it isn't actually rendering the page and running javascript, it might be exploitable.
But that's the barcode app - is it always running, looking for barcodes in all the photos you take? Because there are already shirt with giant barcodes on them - presumably just artistic with no meaning, but who knows?
Has Google's camera app added that yet? If not it's only a matter of time.
It does.
I have a shirt with a QR code that goes to a Rick roll. It doesn't work nearly as well as I'd hoped. Even people trying to scan it have a hard time, forget about anyone scanning it unknowingly. Mr. Astley did in fact let me down.
My camera brings up the links/data in any QR code that's in the shot, I would have to fatfinger it and click the link (twice, because it asks you to confirm that you want to open the link) though
I think as a precaution, barcode scanners stopped automatically going to links.
Even if a link isn't malicious, you can still get someone's IP address or device fingerprint.
IP would not be an issue, your phone is behind cgnat when using a mobile connection
I configure my phone to automatically follow the links from scammer texts.
My phone's camera app just doesn't scan qr codes. It's actually really frustrating. I refuse to install a specific qr scanner, but I'd still like the ability to scan a menu code at restaurants or to get the WiFi connection at a hotel....