QR Codes for Personal Use

Home WiFi, the one everybody should make

A WiFi code framed in the hallway or stuck inside a kitchen cupboard ends the ritual of reading a twenty-character password off the underside of a router.

A WiFi code carries the network credentials inside the pattern itself, which is why it resolves with no internet at all — and also why a new password means a new code. The full walkthrough is in the WiFi code guide.

Two things worth knowing:

• Anyone who photographs the code has your password, so put the code on the guest network if your router supports one
• If you change the password, the printed code stops working, since nothing is stored anywhere to update. Reprint it

For holiday lets and spare rooms, the Airbnb and rentals guide covers presentation and placement.

Luggage, keys and lost property

A tag with a code that opens a page saying "call this number if found" is better than printing your address on your suitcase, because it does not tell a stranger where you live and it can be turned off after the trip.

• Suitcases and hand luggage, especially for connecting flights
• Keys, laptops and bikes, where the finder wants to return the item and has no way to
• Children's school bags and instrument cases
• Pet collars, using a pet tag code, which is more useful than an engraved tag because you can update the number and add medical notes

Use a dynamic code so the page can be changed or switched off, and put a contact method, not an address behind it.

Occasions

• Party and wedding invitations with a code for the RSVP, the venue map and the playlist requests
• A shared photo album code on a table card, so everyone's pictures end up in one place instead of scattered across messaging apps
• Gift tags with a code to a video message, which costs nothing and is remembered longer than the gift
• Christmas cards with a code to the family update, which is the modern version of a folded letter

Job hunting

A small code on a printed resume linking to a portfolio, a project or a profile gives a recruiter one tap to the work itself. Keep it discreet, in the header or the footer, and make sure the destination is current before you print. There is more in the resume and portfolio guide.

What to keep off a personal code

• Your home address, on anything that travels
• Your personal phone number on anything displayed publicly, such as a car windscreen or a public notice
• Full names of children on school items
• Anything you would not want the finder of a lost bag to read

A page you control that says how to reach you is always safer than data printed directly into the pattern, because the page can be edited and the print cannot.