What QR code tracking can and can't tell you

Scan counts show when people use your code and their kind of phone, never who they are or where they stand.

Fixed codes: no tracking at all

A fixed code from our free QR code maker holds your content. Scans never touch ovbq and are not counted. For counts, use an editable code or add link tags (below).

Editable codes: what ovbq records

For each scan of an editable code, we open your page and record:

• the time, so you see scans by day and by hour of the day;
• the kind of device (phone, tablet or desktop), its system (such as iOS or Android) and its browser (such as Safari or Chrome);
• the website that sent them, if there was one. A scan from a camera app normally has none.

Each code's page charts these records. On Pro and Business, you can download the history as CSV. Records are kept for 24 months. Changing the code's link does not reset them.

Scans by country

On Pro and Business, each code's page also shows which countries its scans came from. Our server looks up the country of the network address while it handles the scan, keeps only the country, and forgets the address. A country gets its own row once it has 10 scans; the rest are counted together as "All other countries". It's approximate: a VPN or a company network can show the wrong country.

What we never record

• No IP addresses. We don't store the network address of people who scan.
• No names, and no cookies or other identifiers on their phone.
• No GPS position, street or city. At most the country, on Pro and Business, and never anything finer.
• Nothing they do on your page after the scan.

Owners never see a scanner's IP address, hash or name, or know whether scans on different days came from one person.

How accurate the counts are

• Different visitors are counted once a day. We use a one-way code made from the network address and a random value that changes daily. After about three days, nobody, including us, can turn it back into the address. People sharing a network, such as an office or cafe Wi-Fi, count as one.
• Bots, link previews and checks that don't open the page aren't counted. They still need to meet any access restrictions before the destination opens.
• On the Free plan, we count the first 1,000 scans each month. After that, reaching the scan-count limit does not switch off your code; we just stop counting until next month. Saved pauses and access restrictions still apply.

Track a fixed code with Google Analytics

To count visits with Google Analytics on your website, Google recommends three fixed-code link tags: utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. For example:

yoursite.com/menu?utm_source=table_card&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=spring_menu

Visits appear in your Analytics under your privacy rules. Longer links add dots: keep tags short and check the print size.

If you scanned a code: can it track you?

An ovbq code can't find where you are. On Pro and Business, the code's owner sees only which country the scan came from, never a city or GPS position. We keep no IP address and set no cookie. The page the code opens has its own privacy policy, which is not ours. If you think a code is being used to track people, report it.

Related: Change a QR code's link · Static or editable QR code?

Weekly scan email

Choose your weekly scan email preference in account settings. No form answers or visitor details. Summaries cover Monday through Sunday, New York time. Weekly email details.

More guides

Recorded scan history

Recorded scan details are kept for 24 months. The all-time count can include older scans. Your plan and this code's status determine which statistics you can view or download.

A recording cap, the time shown in a chart and the keeping time are separate. An upgrade cannot restore detailed records already removed.