@ericrisco/rsc 3.3.1 → 3.4.0

package/skills/ux/upstream/ux-designer/references/25a-barcode-camera-scanning.md

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+# Camera Barcode & QR Scanning
+
+Scanning with a phone or laptop camera in consumer and prosumer apps: product lookup,
+adding items, filling a form from a code, joining Wi-Fi, following a QR link, redeeming
+a voucher. The camera is an **accelerator for typing, never the only path**. Most scanner
+UX failures come from the states around the decode: permissions, aiming, feedback, and
+what happens after a hit. The decode itself is rarely the problem.
+
+> Dedicated scanner hardware and scan-driven work apps: [25b-barcode-scanner-workflows.md](25b-barcode-scanner-workflows.md).
+> Showing a code for someone else to scan: [25c-barcode-display.md](25c-barcode-display.md).
+> Symbology primer (in 25b), short version: enable only the formats you expect (QR for links,
+> EAN/UPC for retail products, DataMatrix for pharma/GS1). Fewer formats scan faster and
+> misread less. GS1 barcodes need parsing, and the app must verify check digits.
+
+---
+
+## Contents
+
+- When to Offer Scanning
+- Entry Points & System Scanners
+- Camera Permission
+- The Viewfinder
+- Live States & Guidance
+- Hard Conditions: Light, Focus, Zoom
+- Multiple Codes & Continuous Scanning
+- Feedback: Visual, Haptic, Sound
+- After the Scan: Auto-Act vs. Confirm
+- QR Safety (Quishing)
+- Scanning from an Image
+- Accessibility
+- Web Specifics
+- Platform Notes
+- Quick Checklist
+- Common Mistakes
+- Sources
+
+---
+
+## When to Offer Scanning
+
+- Offer scanning where it replaces typing a long or error-prone value: product lookup, a
+  form field, event details, Wi-Fi, a contact (Material "Barcode scanning" pattern).
+- **Always pair it with manual entry.** Scanning disappears when permission is denied, the
+  device has no camera (desktop web), the code is damaged, Google Play services are
+  missing, or the browser lacks support. Android's permission guidance says to promote
+  alternatives when a feature is unavailable.
+- **Hide scan entry points on devices that can't scan** (iOS `DataScannerViewController.isSupported`
+  requires an A12 chip or later, and a desktop may have no camera).
+- Don't ask people to scan a code shown **on the same phone**. Give them a link instead, or
+  scan-from-image (NN/g).
+
+## Entry Points & System Scanners
+
+- Put the entry point **where the value is needed**: a scan icon inside a search field, a
+  "Scan" button beside a form field. A dedicated tab only makes sense for scan-centric apps.
+  This also puts the permission request in context.
+- **Where results go** (Material):
+
+  | Task | After a hit |
+  |---|---|
+  | Browse products in a store | Stay in the scanner, result in a bottom sheet over the camera |
+  | Add a contact / save something | Stay until saved, via a bottom sheet or full-screen dialog |
+  | Complete a form | Return to the form with the fields filled in |
+
+- **You may not need a scanner at all.** The iOS Camera app, the Control Center "Scan Code"
+  control, the Android camera, the Quick Settings "Scan QR code" tile, and Google Lens all read
+  QR codes. If your codes are HTTPS URLs set up as Universal Links / App Links, the system
+  scanner opens your app directly.
+- NCSC (UK) and the FBI advise consumers to use the phone's built-in scanner and not download
+  scanner apps. Don't make "download our app to scan" a prerequisite for a generic QR.
+- First run: a one-screen animated hint showing how to hold the device, plus a Help entry
+  (angle, distance, light). Not a multi-step tour.
+
+## Camera Permission
+
+- Ask **when the user taps Scan**, never at launch (Apple HIG, Android).
+- Purpose string: a specific, complete sentence ("Scan barcodes to add products to your
+  list"), not "needed for a better experience".
+- **Pre-permission screens differ by platform.** Apple's HIG says a single "Continue"
+  button that leads to the system alert, with no cancel and no "Allow" label. Android says
+  to include a "No thanks" that keeps the app usable. Don't unify them.
+- **Denied state** (Android guidance, which applies everywhere):
+  - Don't block the UI with a full-screen warning, and don't nag.
+  - Explain the loss where results would appear, and offer manual entry and "Choose from photos".
+  - After a permanent denial (Android: denied twice), deep-link to Settings.
+- **Check before opening the camera:** iOS `isAvailable` is false when access is denied
+  or restricted (Screen Time). On the web, `navigator.permissions.query({name:'camera'})`
+  (Chrome, Safari 16+, Firefox 132+) lets you show recovery steps instead of failing.
+- **Permission-free options:**
+
+  | Platform | Option | Trade-off |
+  |---|---|---|
+  | Android | **Google Code Scanner** (ML Kit): no camera permission; Google Play services runs the camera | No custom UI; needs GMS (not Huawei or de-Googled devices); module may download on first use. Has `allowManualInput` and `enableAutoZoom` options |
+  | Android / iOS | Photo Picker / PHPicker + still-image decode | Not live; no media permission |
+  | iOS | System Camera / Control Center handoff | Only for URL codes; no in-app live scanner without permission |
+  | Web | `<input type="file" accept="image/*" capture="environment">` | A still photo, not live; desktop shows a file picker |
+
+## The Viewfinder
+
+- **Full-bleed camera, controls on the edges.** Put exit, torch, and Help in a top bar with a
+  scrim, keep overlays translucent, and leave the centre clear (Material).
+- **Frame shaped for the expected code:** wide for 1D, square for QR. A single-code frame
+  also tells the user that one code is read at a time.
+- **Region of interest:** decode only inside the frame. A smaller region with fewer formats
+  processes faster (vendor docs; iOS `regionOfInterest`).
+- **Size the frame so the lens can focus.** On Pro iPhones a small code that fills a big
+  frame pulls the phone inside the minimum focus distance (12–15 cm), and the image blurs.
+  Apple's fix (WWDC21) is to apply zoom automatically (`minimumFocusDistance`) so people
+  hold the phone farther away.
+- Don't lock orientation. Decoders read codes at any rotation (ML Kit), and WCAG 1.3.4
+  applies on the web.
+- **Inline or mini scanners** (a small camera preview docked over a list, as in self-checkout
+  or stock counting) keep the context visible. Full-screen suits one-off scans.
+
+## Live States & Guidance
+
+Material's pattern is **sense → recognize → communicate**:
+
+| State | Frame | Text |
+|---|---|---|
+| Sensing | Pulsing border | "Point your camera at a barcode" |
+| Too small / far | Partial border | "Move closer" (or "Move back", see focus above) |
+| Detected | Border turns solid; **camera feed pauses** | — |
+| Looking up | Progress indicator across the frame | "Searching…" |
+| Error | Border turns dotted (not only red) | **Banner** with the reason and actions (Retry, Help) |
+
+- **Pause the feed on detection** so the user doesn't scan a second code by accident.
+- **Tooltips describe the state only.** No action verbs in non-actionable hints, and errors
+  never go in a tooltip (Material).
+- **Debounce 1D misreads:** act only after the same value has decoded several frames in a
+  row (ML Kit).
+- **Design the post-decode failures:** a code from an unrelated source ("not a product
+  code"), no network during lookup, a product not in the database. Each needs manual
+  search and a retry.
+- **No-detection hint:** no primary source gives a timing. Show help ("Add light", "Hold
+  steady", "Try manual entry") after roughly 5–10 s without a detection, as a heuristic.
+- **Idle camera:** pausing after ~8–10 s of inactivity saves battery (vendor advice). Pause
+  with a one-tap "Resume scanning" and never discard state (WCAG 2.2.1 on the web).
+
+## Hard Conditions: Light, Focus, Zoom
+
+- **Torch toggle** is always in the top bar when the camera supports it. Hide it otherwise
+  (desktop webcams, Firefox): check `track.getCapabilities().torch`.
+- **Help copy** (Google Pixel's wording): hold steady, add light, avoid glare, clean the lens,
+  keep the whole code visible. For **glare on curved or shiny packaging**: tilt or rotate the
+  item.
+- **Tiny codes:** use a higher-accuracy mode (VisionKit `qualityLevel = .accurate`) and zoom.
+  For small or dense codes, use camera input of 1280×720–1920×1080. ML Kit needs the
+  smallest module to cover about 2 camera pixels or more, and an EAN-13 about 190 px wide.
+- **Zoom:** VisionKit supports pinch-to-zoom by default, and Google Code Scanner and ML Kit
+  offer auto-zoom for distant codes. If you implement pinch zoom yourself, add **zoom
+  buttons or a slider** as the single-pointer alternative (WCAG 2.5.1).
+- **Damaged codes** fall back to manual entry. Some vendor SDKs add OCR of the printed digits.
+
+## Multiple Codes & Continuous Scanning
+
+- **Single mode** (the default): pick the code nearest the centre, and let a **tap choose a
+  different one** (VisionKit behaviour).
+- **Multi mode:** highlight every detected code with overlays that track movement (keep
+  high-frame-rate tracking on), and tap to act on one. ML Kit returns at most 10 codes
+  per frame.
+- **Continuous or batch** (scanning a shelf, a cart): keep the camera running, list results
+  as they arrive, show a running count, and allow undo of the last item.
+- **Duplicate suppression** has no standard. Vendor defaults range from 0.5 to 3 s, or "until
+  the code leaves the frame". Single-scan flows should simply pause after a hit.
+
+## Feedback: Visual, Haptic, Sound
+
+- **Visual first:** the frame locks, the feed freezes, and the result appears. Use shape as
+  well as colour for success and error.
+- **Haptics:** iOS `UINotificationFeedbackGenerator` `.success` / `.error`. Android
+  `HapticFeedbackConstants.CONFIRM` / `REJECT`. Don't reuse one pattern for opposite
+  meanings, and prefer no haptics to buzzy ones (Android). Apple warns that haptics must not
+  disrupt the camera, so fire them **after** the frame is captured.
+- **Sound:** no platform guideline says on or off. Vendor SDKs default to on. A short beep is
+  fine if it respects silent mode, is toggleable, and is never the only signal. On iOS,
+  play it with the **`.ambient`** audio session. The default `soloAmbient` stops the
+  user's music.
+- **Web:** `navigator.vibrate` does nothing on iOS and Firefox Android, so never rely on it.
+  Create or resume the `AudioContext` inside the "Start scanning" tap, so later beeps pass
+  autoplay rules.
+
+## After the Scan: Auto-Act vs. Confirm
+
+| Code | Action |
+|---|---|
+| Your own app's payload or a known product ID | Auto-act: look it up and show the result sheet |
+| Arbitrary URL | **Preview, then the user taps to open** (as the iOS and Android system scanners do) |
+| Structured payload (Wi-Fi, contact, calendar, phone, SMS, geo) | Type-specific preview (SSID, name, number), then a confirm action |
+| Login / "link a device" QR | Say exactly what happens ("Sign in on a new device: Chrome on Windows, Berlin") and require explicit confirmation |
+| Payment QR | Show merchant name and amount before confirming ([25c](25c-barcode-display.md)) |
+
+ML Kit and VisionKit already parse the common structured types. Use their typed results
+rather than re-parsing strings.
+
+## QR Safety (Quishing)
+
+Attackers put stickers over real codes (parking, restaurants), send QR codes in email to
+get past link scanners, and use "link a device" codes to hijack messaging accounts (CISA,
+Nov 2025). Risk is highest for codes in email and in open public spaces (NCSC UK). The
+"Gone Quishing" field study found 67% of participants handed over Google or Facebook
+credentials after a QR pretext.
+
+When your app opens scanned URLs:
+- **Show a URL preview before opening.** Follow Chromium's URL display rules:
+  - Highlight the **registrable domain** (eTLD+1).
+  - Elide long hostnames **from the front** so the real domain stays visible.
+  - Never show `user:pass@`.
+  - Show punycode (`xn--`) for confusable internationalized domains.
+- Flag link shorteners, non-HTTPS URLs, and domains that don't match the context (a
+  "parking" code going to an unrelated domain).
+- Don't auto-open app installs or payment pages from arbitrary QR codes. The FBI says to
+  install apps from the store and type known payment URLs.
+- For account linking or login by QR, see the table above and
+  [25c](25c-barcode-display.md#qr-login--device-pairing).
+
+## Scanning from an Image
+
+Codes arrive in screenshots, PDFs, and emails, and a phone can't point its camera at its
+own screen.
+- Put **"Choose from photos"** in the scanner and in the permission-denied state.
+- iOS: PHPicker (no library permission) + VisionKit `ImageAnalyzer`. Android: Photo Picker
+  (no media permission) + ML Kit on a still image. Web: `BarcodeDetector.detect()` or the
+  polyfill on an image or blob.
+- "No code found in this image" offers a retry with another image and manual entry.
+
+## Accessibility
+
+- **Visual aiming excludes blind users.** Proven research patterns (Smith-Kettlewell BLaDE):
+  - Audio cues where **volume = distance** and **tone continuity = centring**.
+  - Feedback about **one code at a time**.
+  - A target size of 60–80% of the frame for 1D codes.
+  - Seeing AI and Google Lookout use beeps or spoken guidance and **auto-capture** with no
+    shutter button.
+- **Auto-capture** also helps users with motor impairments. Never require a tap while aiming.
+- **Announce the result.** On iOS, post a `UIAccessibility` announcement. On Android,
+  `announceForAccessibility` is **deprecated since API 36**: move focus to the result, or use
+  a live region or pane title instead.
+- Label the torch, zoom, exit, and manual-entry controls. Make the targets large and reachable
+  one-handed.
+- Success and error use shape and text, not just colour (Material switches the frame from a
+  solid to a dotted stroke).
+- Zoom has a single-pointer alternative (WCAG 2.5.1). No short camera timeouts without a
+  resume option (2.2.1).
+
+## Web Specifics
+
+- **`BarcodeDetector` is not Baseline** (MDN compat data, Sept 2026):
+
+  | Browser | Support |
+  |---|---|
+  | Chrome Android | Yes |
+  | Chrome / Edge desktop | macOS and ChromeOS only, **not Windows or Linux** |
+  | Safari (macOS, iOS) | Behind a flag only; broken on iOS 18+ (WebKit bug 281848) |
+  | Firefox | No |
+
+  All iOS browsers use WebKit, so there's effectively no native detector on iOS web.
+- **Fallback:** the `barcode-detector` polyfill (on zxing-wasm / ZXing-C++). It only
+  registers when native support is missing. Feature-detect `'BarcodeDetector' in window`
+  **and** check `getSupportedFormats()` for your formats. Load the WASM **lazily** when the
+  scanner opens, and self-host the `.wasm` for CSP or offline use. ZXing Java and
+  `@zxing/library` are in maintenance mode.
+- **HTTPS only.** `navigator.mediaDevices` is undefined on insecure origins. In iframes,
+  add `allow="camera"`.
+- **Camera constraints:** use `facingMode: 'environment'`, not `{exact: ...}`, which throws
+  on laptops. Feature-detect `torch`, `zoom`, and `focusMode` through `getCapabilities()`.
+  Torch works in iOS Safari only from about iOS 17, despite older claims.
+- **Map `getUserMedia` errors to UI:**
+
+  | Error | Meaning |
+  |---|---|
+  | `NotAllowedError` | Denied or policy-blocked. Show recovery steps |
+  | `NotFoundError` | No camera. Hide scan, show manual entry |
+  | `NotReadableError` | Camera in use by another app |
+  | `OverconstrainedError` | Constraints too strict. Retry with looser ones |
+
+- **Stop the tracks** (`track.stop()`) when the scanner closes or pauses, so the camera
+  indicator goes off.
+- **iOS Home Screen web apps** historically forget the camera decision and re-prompt. Since
+  iOS 26, *every* site added to the Home Screen opens as a web app by default, so plan for
+  repeated prompts with brief in-context priming each time.
+- **Hybrid apps:** WKWebView needs `requestMediaCapturePermissionFor` (iOS 15+), or users see
+  a web prompt on top of the native one. Android WebView needs `onPermissionRequest` plus
+  the app's CAMERA permission. Many in-app browsers fail silently here.
+
+## Platform Notes
+
+- **iOS — VisionKit `DataScannerViewController`** (iOS 16+, A12+):
+  - Built in: guidance labels ("Slow down"), tap-to-focus, pinch-to-zoom, tap-to-select, and
+    optional highlighting.
+  - Restrict `recognizedDataTypes` to the symbologies you need, and pick a `qualityLevel`.
+  - For full control, use AVFoundation `AVCaptureMetadataOutput` (see the AVCamBarcode sample
+    for focus-distance zoom).
+- **Android — ML Kit** (on-device, offline): Codabar, Code 39/93/128, EAN, ITF, UPC, Aztec,
+  DataMatrix, PDF417, QR. Use CameraX `STRATEGY_KEEP_ONLY_LATEST`, ≤ 2 MP input, and throttle
+  the detector. **Google Code Scanner** gives a no-permission, no-custom-UI alternative.
+- **Web:** native `BarcodeDetector` where available, the zxing-wasm polyfill elsewhere. See
+  above.
+
+---
+
+## Quick Checklist
+
+- [ ] Manual entry and "Choose from photos" beside every scan entry point
+- [ ] Scan entry hidden when the device can't scan
+- [ ] Permission asked on tap, with a specific purpose string; denied state is non-blocking and links to Settings
+- [ ] Frame matches the code shape; torch, exit, and Help in the top bar
+- [ ] Only the needed symbologies enabled; region of interest set
+- [ ] Sensing → detected → lookup → error states designed; feed pauses on a hit
+- [ ] Errors in a banner with a reason and actions, not a tooltip; not colour-only
+- [ ] Focus-distance zoom on iOS; zoom buttons if custom pinch
+- [ ] Haptic after capture; beep toggleable, respects silent mode (`.ambient` on iOS)
+- [ ] Arbitrary URLs previewed (registrable domain highlighted) before opening
+- [ ] Login and device-link codes state what they authorize and require confirmation
+- [ ] Result announced to screen readers; auto-capture without a shutter tap
+- [ ] Web: feature-detect `BarcodeDetector` + formats, lazy WASM fallback, HTTPS, tracks stopped on close
+
+## Common Mistakes
+
+- Scan as the only way to enter a code
+- Asking for camera permission at app launch
+- A permission-denied dead end with no manual path
+- Auto-opening any URL a QR code contains
+- Leaving the camera live after a hit, so a second code gets scanned by mistake
+- "Move closer" hints on phones where closer means out of focus
+- Errors shown as a red tint or a tooltip only
+- A beep that stops the user's music
+- Relying on `navigator.vibrate` or native `BarcodeDetector` on iOS
+- Loading a large WASM decoder on page load instead of when the scanner opens
+- Enabling every symbology "just in case"
+
+---
+
+## Sources
+
+- [Material Design (M2) — Barcode scanning pattern](https://m2.material.io/design/machine-learning/barcode-scanning.html)
+- [Apple VisionKit — DataScannerViewController](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/visionkit/datascannerviewcontroller) · [WWDC22 — Capture machine-readable codes and text with VisionKit](https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2022/10025/) · [WWDC21 — What's new in camera capture](https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2021/10047/) · [HIG — Privacy](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/privacy) · [HIG — Playing haptics](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/playing-haptics) · [AVAudioSession ambient](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfaudio/avaudiosession/category-swift.struct/ambient) · [iPhone — Scan a QR code](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/scan-a-qr-code-iphe8bda8762/ios)
+- [ML Kit barcode scanning](https://developers.google.com/ml-kit/vision/barcode-scanning) · [Android guide](https://developers.google.com/ml-kit/vision/barcode-scanning/android) · [Google Code Scanner](https://developers.google.com/ml-kit/vision/barcode-scanning/code-scanner) · [Android — Request permissions](https://developer.android.com/training/permissions/requesting) · [HapticFeedbackConstants](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/HapticFeedbackConstants) · [Photo Picker](https://developer.android.com/training/data-storage/shared/photo-picker)
+- [MDN — BarcodeDetector](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/BarcodeDetector) · [WICG Shape Detection API](https://wicg.github.io/shape-detection-api/) · [WebKit bug 281848](https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=281848) · [barcode-detector polyfill](https://github.com/Sec-ant/barcode-detector) · [MDN — getUserMedia](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/MediaDevices/getUserMedia) · [W3C MediaStream Image Capture](https://www.w3.org/TR/image-capture/) · [WebKit — Safari 26.0 features](https://webkit.org/blog/17333/webkit-features-in-safari-26-0/)
+- [FTC — QR code scams](https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/12/scammers-hide-harmful-links-qr-codes-steal-your-information) · [FBI IC3 PSA](https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2022/PSA220118) · [NCSC UK — QR codes: what's the real risk?](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/qr-codes-whats-real-risk) · [NCSC Ireland — QR phishing](https://www.ncsc.gov.ie/pdfs/Quick_Guide_QR_Code_Phishing_Scams.pdf) · [CISA — messaging app targeting (Nov 2025)](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2025/11/24/spyware-allows-cyber-threat-actors-target-users-messaging-applications) · [Chromium URL display guidelines](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/HEAD/docs/security/url_display_guidelines/url_display_guidelines.md) · ["Gone Quishing" (arXiv 2204.04086)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.04086)
+- [Smith-Kettlewell BLaDE](https://www.ski.org/project/blade/) · [Google Lookout](https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/9031274) · [NN/g — QR code guidelines](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/qr-code-guidelines/)
+- [WCAG 2.2 — 1.3.4 Orientation](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/orientation.html) · [2.5.1 Pointer Gestures](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/pointer-gestures.html) · [2.2.1 Timing Adjustable](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/timing-adjustable.html)