Thursday, July 23, 2026

QBaR Code Vault

So, I did it again. I created another Google Play Store app! This one is a cool little QR code scanner. Why? I mean, you can scan QR codes and barcodes using your phone's camera just as easily, right? Yes, you can. But... this app has a neat little "scanning" bar that moves up and down while you scan your QR codes! Ha. But really, it does a few things that I don't think your camera can do for you:

  • It allows you to see and copy the code content (ok, your phone's camera does this, too).
  • It allows you to increase the font of the scanned content to a larger size (for those of us with old eyes, this can be very helpful!).
  • It saves the scanned code into a history, so you can easily re-copy it or visit the content at any time without having to go back to the QR code (and you can mark favorites for quick access).
  • It allows you to generate and share QR codes — both from scanned content in your history and anything else you want to generate a code for (and you can share it directly or save it to your phone for later use).
  • It doesn't send whatever you scanned to Google (I don't know if the default camera scanner does that, but it wouldn't surprise me).

Also, it was built using Antigravity - Google's new VS Code fork with built in agentic AI. I was the manager/architect/QA, Antigravity was the coder, and I think it did a pretty decent job.

The one catch: apparently Google Play Store production access now requires "closed testing" for every new app — not just the first time. So, I need testers. That's where you, my 3 readers, come in: help me get production access for this app!

How, you ask? Easy: two steps, which you can follow from this app tester information page:

  1. Join the Google Group (yes, it says it's for "My Dog Whistle" — I'm just reusing that group).
  2. Join the test group and install the app.

Once that's done, just open the app and leave it installed until the test track is completed (hopefully no more than a few weeks). Maybe use it if you want, and feel free to provide feedback.

What do you get for this? A really cool QR/Barcode scanner, for one, and the pleasure of helping an independent developer put another app out on the Google Play Store. And my gratitude! Thanks for helping!

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