Why won't my QR code scan?
Why more data makes a code harder to scan
Every extra character adds modules — the small squares that make up the pattern. A long URL with tracking parameters produces a visibly busier code than a short link to the same page, and a busier code has to be printed larger or scanned closer to work at all.
Shortening the destination URL is the single most effective fix for a code that scans unreliably.
Do QR codes expire?
A static code never expires — the data lives in the pattern itself, with no server involved. What expires is the destination: if the page it points to dies, the code leads nowhere.
Codes advertised as expiring are dynamic ones, which encode a short redirect URL owned by a service. Convenient, but if that service shuts down or starts charging, every code you printed stops working. For anything printed on physical material, a static code pointing at a page you control is the safer choice.
Are QR codes safe to scan?
The code itself cannot do anything — it is just text. The risk is what the text points to, and you cannot see that before scanning. Fake codes stuck over genuine ones on parking meters and restaurant tables are a common scam.
iOS shows the URL before opening it. Read it. If a code on a physical surface looks like a sticker placed over something else, do not scan it.
Our iOS app for exactly this. Runs on your device — no account, no tracking.