WhatsApp’s latest beta version lets you add contacts by scanning their QR codes, WABetaInfo reports. The feature, which is available in beta on both iOS and Android, can be found in the app’s settings menu, where there are options to display your own code, as well as to scan other people’s. A QR code can also be revoked if it gets shared with someone who you don’t want to have your number.
It’s a minor feature, but adding contacts on WhatsApp can be a pain. At the moment, the service relies on you adding a new contact to your phone’s address book, which creates an annoying extra step when you just want to be able to message someone in WhatsApp itself. QR codes are a much more convenient way of adding someone if you’re with them in person, although it won’t make the process too much easier if you’re doing it online.
This isn’t the first way that WhatsApp has used QR codes for its users, and already uses them to quickly log in to the platform’s online client. It’s not yet clear if the feature will make it out to all of WhatsApp’s two-plus billion users, but if it’s this far along in testing, it’s likely to pop up fairly soon.
