SMS codes have long been less secure than other forms of authentication. With QR codes, Google aims to reduce users' dependency on carriers for account verification.

Google is officially moving away from using SMS messages in its Gmail account two-factor authenticator. Gmail spokesperson Ross Richendrfer told Forbes, “we want to move away from sending SMS messages for authentication” to “reduce the impact of rampant,

According to Richendrfer, over the next few months, Google will be "reimagining" how the company verifies phone numbers. Gmail and other Google services will shift from texting six-digit codes over SMS to sending a QR code that a user would verify.