Every WhatsApp account has its own QR code. When you meet someone, one person shows their code and the other scans it, and the number is saved without typing. Useful for shopkeepers, tuition teachers, new neighbours or older relatives who find typing numbers hard.
Show your QR code
- Android: tap ⋮ › Settings, then the small QR code icon next to your name.
- iPhone: tap Settings at the bottom, then the QR code icon next to your name.
Your code appears on the My code tab. The other person scans it. You can also tap Share to send it as a picture, or print it for your shop counter.
Scan someone else's QR code
- Open the same QR screen as above and tap the Scan code tab.
- Point the camera at their code and hold steady.
- Tap Add to contacts (or Add), check the name and save.
Other ways to scan
- Tap the camera icon in WhatsApp and point it at the code.
- Tap New chat › the QR icon beside New contact.
- If someone sent their code as a picture, open the QR screen, tap Scan code, then the gallery icon and pick that picture.
Business QR codes
Many shops show a WhatsApp QR code. Scanning it opens a chat with that business, sometimes with a ready-typed first message. You still choose whether to send it.
Reset your QR code
If your code was shared somewhere public and strangers keep adding you, open your QR screen, tap ⋮ (Android) or the options/reset button (iPhone) and choose Reset QR code. The old code stops working; people who already saved your number are not affected.
If it doesn't work
- Camera doesn't open: allow WhatsApp to use the camera in your phone's Settings › Apps › WhatsApp › Permissions.
- "Not a valid WhatsApp QR code": the person may have reset their code. Ask them to show it again.
- Code won't focus: clean the camera, add light, and keep the code fully inside the square.
- Check your internet: scanning needs a connection.
Safety tip
A WhatsApp contact QR code only adds a contact; it never needs your OTP, PIN or money. Be very careful with QR codes that come with a message like "scan to receive payment" or "scan to verify your WhatsApp": receiving money never needs a scan, and a code that links a computer to your WhatsApp lets that computer read all your chats. Only scan WhatsApp Web codes on your own computer.
This is GroupChatOn’s own easy guide. We are not WhatsApp and are not linked with WhatsApp or Meta. WhatsApp sometimes changes its menus: if a button looks different on your phone, update WhatsApp from the Play Store or App Store.
Still stuck?
Contact support. Tell us which tool or page you were using, what you tapped, what you saw, and your phone or computer and browser (for example: Android phone, Chrome). We reply by email.
Questions, or an error not listed here?
Tell us in the comments: what you were doing, the exact message you saw, and your device and browser. We read every comment and add new fixes to this article.