How a MeCard is written
A MeCard is a single line that starts with MECARD: and lists fields separated by semicolons, ending with two semicolons. A simple example is MECARD:N:Lee,Jordan;TEL:+15035550123;EMAIL:jordan@example.com;; which holds a name, a phone number and an email address.
The N field puts the family name first, separated from the given name by a comma. Characters that have a special meaning in the format, such as a semicolon, colon, comma or backslash inside a value, are escaped with a backslash.
- N: name, family name first, comma before the given name
- TEL: phone number
- EMAIL: email address
- URL: website
- ADR: postal address
- NOTE: free text
- BDAY: birthday as YYYYMMDD
MeCard compared with vCard
A MeCard is shorter than a vCard holding the same details because it has no BEGIN, VERSION or END lines and uses short field names. Fewer characters mean a smaller QR version, which matters on business cards, badges and small labels.
The trade-off is scope. A vCard can carry job titles, several typed phone numbers, organizations and many other properties, and it is a formal standard. MeCard covers the basics, and support is typically good in phone cameras and scanner apps, but vCard remains the more universal choice when the extra fields are needed.