A QR (Quick Response) code is a two-dimensional barcode that packs text, a URL, or other data into a grid of black and white squares. Unlike a traditional barcode, which only reads left to right, a camera can scan a QR code from any angle and pull out the encoded information almost instantly.
No — on any modern iPhone or Android phone, just point your default camera app at the code. It'll detect the pattern and show a prompt to open the link or copy the text. A dedicated scanner app isn't necessary anymore.
A few usual suspects: not enough contrast between the code and its background, the image being too small or blurry once printed, or a logo overlay that's too large for the error correction level in use. If you're using the logo option above, try shrinking the logo or increasing the overall image size.
The codes this tool generates don't expire — the text or URL is baked directly into the pattern, so they'll scan the same way indefinitely. QR codes that do expire are a design decision from third-party services that route through a redirect they control, not a property of the QR code format itself.
A static QR code — what this tool creates — encodes your content directly, so it's fixed once generated. A dynamic QR code instead encodes a short redirect link controlled by a service, which lets the destination be changed later and lets that service track scans. Dynamic codes are handy for campaigns you need to update, but they only work as long as that service stays online.
Up to around 4,296 alphanumeric characters at the lowest error correction level, though practically you'll want far less — the more data you encode, the denser and harder-to-scan the resulting pattern gets. For URLs, a shortened link scans faster and more reliably than a long one.
Error correction lets a QR code still scan correctly even if part of it is damaged, dirty, or covered — like a logo placed in the center. Higher levels (Q or H) rebuild more of the missing data but pack the same information into a denser pattern. That's why this tool automatically switches to error correction level H whenever you add a logo — it gives the code enough redundancy to stay scannable with a chunk of it obscured.
Yes, as long as the logo stays reasonably small and the error correction level is high enough to compensate — which this tool handles automatically by forcing level H when a logo is added. It's still worth testing the finished code with a couple of different phones before printing or publishing it anywhere.
Treat a QR code the way you'd treat a link from a stranger. Watch for a sticker pasted over another code — a common scam is covering a legitimate code with a fake one — and always check the URL preview your phone shows before tapping through. Look for misspelled domains or unexpected redirects, and don't scan codes from unsolicited emails, texts, or flyers you weren't expecting.
Completely free, no account needed, and nothing you enter ever leaves your browser. The QR code — and any logo you upload — is generated entirely on your device using JavaScript. There's no server involved in that process, so your text, links, and images are never uploaded, logged, or stored anywhere.