Fact Check: Do mehndi QR codes work? Viral Raksha Bandhan video was staged

Traditions and modern technology came together when, ahead of Raksha Bandhan, a video of a functional henna QR code on a woman’s hand went viral on social media. In the video, a man scanned the henna or mehndi QR code on his sister’s hand using the Paytm app, which redirected him to a payment window. Many shared the clip, applauding the innovation of the artist. Others considered getting similar henna designs themselves.

Sharing the video on Twitter, one person wrote, “This is a new digital India moment. Mehndi designs for all sisters on Rakshabandhan! What is it called now? Mpay?” Archived versions of such posts can be seen here and here.

India Today talked to the artist behind this video, who revealed that the clip was edited.

But, can QR codes imprinted on arms with ink or Henna work? Read on to find out.

The viral video

A reverse search of keyframes from the viral video led us to an Instagram account named “yash_mehndi”. The viral video was shared here as a Reel on August 28. The caption stated that the video was edited and made for fun.

We then contacted the person running this account. Yash, a mehndi artist based in Delhi, told India Today that the viral video was shot and edited by him.

“Taking inspiration from trending videos of sisters presenting QR codes to their brothers while tying rakhis, I decided to make this Reel for fun. I designed the mehndi on my sister’s hand and the conversation heard in the video was between me and her,” he said.

The trick behind the video

Yash said that he used two screen recordings for the Reel. In the first video, he scanned the mehndi QR code using the Paytm app. In the second video, he scanned a working QR code that redirected to a payment gateway. He then combined the two clips and played the final video from his phone's gallery while shooting the Reel.

Looking closely at the phone in the viral video, one can see that it shows a video being played from an iPhone gallery and not the Paytm interface. He also sent us the raw footage used to make the viral video, which can be seen below.

Yash further said that he used a random QR code from the internet and did not design anything specific. Thus, it’s clear that the viral video does not show a functional Paytm QR code.

Do mehndi QR codes work?

India Today spoke to Prabhu Ram, the head of the Industry Intelligence Group at CyberMedia Research (CMR), to understand this. He explained that QR codes comprise black squares and dots that encode diverse information. When scanned, the stored data is transformed into a human-readable format, facilitating a range of use cases, such as making payments, accessing websites, sharing contact details, and providing product information.

Prabhu Ram said that technically, a mehndi QR code could work. Its success, he said, depended on multiple variables like the size and density of the code, the contrast between the tattoo ink and the skin, as well as the chances of distortion over time owing to fading, stretching, or ageing of the skin.

Sunny Nehra, a cybersecurity expert, added that QR code scanners are more sensitive to black and white or contrast colours, and not one’s skin colour. However, if a QR code is printed on a relatively flat area of the body with precision — so that all the parts of the code can be read by a scanner — then, he said it may work.

While creating QR codes with henna might not be as simple, Nehra said that people have in the past tattooed working QR codes to their skin. He added, however, that they don't last very long as the ink blurs with time.