When a limit is useful
- First come, first served: the first 100 people who scan get the offer, then the code closes.
- One-off coupons: a code on a receipt that should be redeemed once, not passed around the office.
- Giveaways: cap the entries at the number of prizes you can honor.
- Test runs: let a small batch through before a wider launch, then raise the limit.
- Event capacity: stop sign-ups when the room is full.
If none of these apply, leave the limit empty. A code without a limit keeps working for as long as your plan is active.
How scans are counted
Only a person opening the code counts toward the limit. Link previews, crawlers and other bots are ignored. Scans that were turned away, for example before the start date or at the password screen, do not count either.
For a code with a limit, each scan is claimed in the database before the content is served. If two hundred people scan in the same second and the limit is 100, exactly 100 get through.
What scanners see after the limit
Once the limit is reached, the code shows a plain page that says "This QR code is inactive". It does not reveal the destination or the reason.
The owner can bring it back at any time: raise the limit, or remove it, and the next scan opens the content again. The printed code does not change.
Combining it with dates and a password
A scan limit is one of four rules a dynamic code can have. They can be used alone or together:
- Start date
- What it does
- The code opens from this date on
- What a scanner sees
- "Not active yet" before it
- End date
- What it does
- The code stops on this date
- What a scanner sees
- The inactive page after it
- Scan limit
- What it does
- The code stops after this many scans
- What a scanner sees
- The inactive page after the last one
- Password
- What it does
- Only people with the password get in
- What a scanner sees
- A password box, once per phone for about 6 hours
| Rule | What it does | What a scanner sees |
|---|---|---|
| Start date | The code opens from this date on | "Not active yet" before it |
| End date | The code stops on this date | The inactive page after it |
| Scan limit | The code stops after this many scans | The inactive page after the last one |
| Password | Only people with the password get in | A password box, once per phone for about 6 hours |
A pre-launch poster, for example, can carry a start date so nobody sees the page early, and a scan limit for the launch offer.
The order of checks
- 1
Status
A paused or inactive code stops here.
- 2
Schedule
Before the start date or after the end date, the scan stops here.
- 3
Scan limit
If the limit is already reached, the scan stops here.
- 4
Password
Last, the scanner is asked for the password if the code has one.