The last few months haven't been good for Twitter. All of the companies that had expressed an interest in acquiring the microblogging site decided it isn't for them; CEO Jack Dorsey laid off 300 staff; and its short-form video sharing app Vine was axed. But Twitter is pushing back against the tide - with QR codes.
It seem the company believes that the Snapchat-like codes, which show a user's profile picture in the center, will help bring in some much-needed new users.
The feature is currently rolling out on the Android and iOS versions of the official Twitter app. Using a QR code on an iPhone requires users to navigate to their profile page, select the gear icon, and choose the "QR code" option to generate and share a code or scan someone else's.
Android users can access the feature via the ellipsis in their profile page, or in the left slide out menu under the night mode toggle. Selecting it will bring up the camera for scanning codes, along with a "my QR code" generator. You can save the code in your photo gallery and, for example, use it at as a profile picture or share it through another service.
Scanning someone's code will bring up their profile, giving you the option to follow them, if you wish.
While the system may seem a bit pointless for online use - a link or @handle is a quicker and easier method of sharing your Twitter profile - the company will be hoping they find more use in physical documents such as business cards.
This is the second new feature Twitter has introduced within a week. It recently expanded its mute function to allow people to create blacklists of keywords, phrases and even emojis to be muted in notifications.