Sign in by scanning, instead of waiting for an OTP.
The portal login page now shows a QR code. Scan it with the Inkwelly app on the phone you already carry, confirm it is really you, and the computer is signed in — no message sent, nothing to wait for.
What shipped
Until now, opening Inkwelly on a computer meant typing your mobile number, waiting for an SMS and typing six digits back. At the fee counter during the morning rush, or on the staff-room computer where the phone is in a bag two rooms away, that is a slow minute. On a weak network it is worse — sometimes the message simply does not arrive, and the person in front of the counter waits while somebody checks their phone again.
From this release the login page also shows a QR code. Open the Inkwelly app on the phone you already carry, tap Sign in on web, and point it at the screen. The app then asks one question — this computer is asking to open your account, is that you? — and shows you which browser is asking and where it is signing in from. Tap Yes and the computer is in. Nothing is sent, so there is nothing to wait for and nothing that can fail to arrive. Schools on patchy Tier-2 and Tier-3 connections notice it first.
In this release
- A QR code on the portal login page, scannable from the Inkwelly app on any phone that is already signed in — no OTP and no message cost
- Scanning on its own never signs anyone in: the app first shows which browser is asking, where it is signing in from and which account is about to be opened, and waits for you to say yes
- A sign-in is refused outright when the computer and the phone are in different countries
- A six-character code printed under the QR, for the older handsets whose camera will not focus — type it into the app instead of scanning
- A This is a shared computer tick box for front-desk and staff-room machines: that session ends after 12 hours and leaves nothing behind on the computer
- Every scanned sign-in appears under Security and devices, on the phone and on the web, marked Scanned — and can be signed out from either side in one tap
- Sign in on web sits in the app's side menu and in the menu on your profile screen, so it is reachable before you have even chosen a profile
Where to find it
On a computer, open the portal login page — the code sits just below the mobile-number form, with the typed six-character version under it. On the phone, open the Inkwelly app and tap Sign in on web, either from the side menu or from the menu on your profile screen. Point the camera at the code, read the confirmation carefully, and tap Sign in.
If you ever see a sign-in you do not recognise on that confirmation screen — an unfamiliar browser, or somewhere you are not — tap Not me. Nothing is shared with that computer, and the attempt is recorded in your account's history. Signed-in computers and phones are listed together under Security and devices, and the full picture of who can reach what is on the identity and access management page.
See it on your own front desk
A short walkthrough on your school's data: we open the portal on a counter computer and sign in from your phone while you watch.
Covers modules
1 moduleFrequently asked
3 questionsDo we have to set anything up to use QR sign-in?
No. Anyone already signed in to the Inkwelly app can use it today, and there is no setting for an administrator to turn on. Signing in with a mobile number and an OTP is unchanged and stays on the same screen.
Someone sent me a QR code and asked me to scan it. Is that safe?
Scanning never signs anyone in by itself. The app stops and shows you which browser is asking and where it is signing in from, and you have to tap Yes. If the computer is in a different country from your phone, Inkwelly refuses the sign-in without asking you at all. If anything looks unfamiliar, tap Not me.
What happens on the front-desk computer that everyone uses?
Tick This is a shared computer before you scan. That session signs out after 12 hours and leaves nothing behind on the machine, so the next person at the counter starts clean. You can also sign that computer out from your phone at any time under Security and devices.
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2 readsSee Inkwelly on your school
30-minute demo. We open your current ERP with you and load your data into Inkwelly on the call. Dated go-live plan by the end of it.