SquarelatchFree QR codes with no expiration
Every code made with the free generator is a static QR code: free, no expiration, no sign-up and no subscription. It works for as long as the thing it points to exists. We cannot switch it off, and we never will try.
Why that is true, technically
A static QR code stores your content (a link, Wi-Fi details, a contact card) directly in the black and white pattern. When a phone scans it, the phone reads the content from the pattern itself. Nothing passes through our servers, so there is no account to expire, no subscription to lapse and no redirect to remove.
Static vs dynamic QR codes
A dynamic code (also called an editable or redirect code) does not contain your content. It contains a short link on the provider's own domain, and the provider's server forwards each scan to your real address. That is what lets you change the destination after printing, and what makes scan statistics possible. It also means the code only works while the provider keeps that short link active. Depending on the provider's terms, a dynamic code can stop working when a free trial or a subscription ends.
| Feature | Static (made here) | Dynamic (redirect) |
|---|---|---|
| What is inside the code | Your actual content | A short link on the provider's domain |
| Needs a service to keep running | No | Yes, the provider's redirect |
| Can stop working when a trial or subscription ends | No | It can, depending on the provider |
| Change the destination after printing | No, but you can edit the page it links to | Yes |
| Scan statistics | Only through your own analytics (for example UTM tags) | Usually, from the provider |
Neither kind is wrong. Dynamic codes are useful when you need to edit or count scans. The point is to know which one you have before you print thousands of them.
How to check whether a code can expire
Scan it and read the address the phone shows before you open it. If it shows your own web address (or your Wi-Fi or contact details), the code is static and cannot expire. If it shows a short link on another company's domain, it is a redirect that works only as long as that company keeps it active. On this site, open Show encoded content under any generator to see exactly what is inside the code.
Our promise for free codes
- No sign-up, no watermark, no scan limit, no expiry.
- Commercial use is allowed.
- We will not add a redirect to codes made with the free generator.
What can still break a code
- The link inside it stops working (the website is moved or deleted, or the domain lapses).
- The Wi-Fi password or the contact details change.
- Physical damage, poor printing, low contrast or a code printed too small. Use the scan check, the print-size calculator, and test the print.
Future paid (editable) codes: planned commitments
A future paid tier will offer editable codes and scan statistics. These have to use a redirect, so unlike static codes they depend on our service. For that future paid tier we plan to commit to the following; the final wording will be published in its terms before any paid plan launches:
- If you stop paying, editable codes would keep redirecting to their last destination for at least 12 months.
- You would be able to export your codes and destinations at any time.
- If the service ever closed, customers would get advance notice and an export.
The paid tier does not exist yet. These are planned commitments for it, not current binding terms. They do not affect free static codes, which never expire because they contain your data directly.