G-mail spokesman Ross Richendrfer said that the platform will soon stop using SMS for security validation and authentication, as is intended with passwords.

SMS codes should be abandoned when it comes to authentication and replaced by QR codes to "reduce the impact of rampant and global SMS abuse".

At Google, SMS verification is currently used for security and abuse control. Quoted by Forbes, Richendrfer explained that in the field of security it's to find out if it really is the same as always, and for abuse control the idea is to ensure that pirates/fraudsters don't abuse Google's services.

As he revealed, SMS verification is vulnerable to phishing, and to escape this, "in the coming months, we're going to reimagine how we verify phone numbers" by introducing QR code verification.

"SMS codes are a source of high risk for users," Richendrfer concluded. "We are happy to present an innovative new approach to reduce the surface area for attackers and keep users safer from malicious activity."

According to Google, QR codes offer the advantage of reducing the risk of phishing and eliminating the dependence, at least generally, of Google users on their telephone operators for protection against abuse.