1. An apparatus comprising: a decoding unit configured to decode plural two-dimensional codes in image data; a selecting unit configured to select security information having a higher security level from security information obtained by the decoding of plural two-dimensional codes; a generating unit configured to generate a two-dimensional code based on the selected security information having the higher security level; a combining unit configured to combine the generated two-dimensional code with the image data; and an outputting unit configured to output a result obtained by the combining.