Events, ticketing and internal comms
How to password-protect, expire, or scan-limit a QR code
Most QR codes should work forever. Some should not. A ticket is valid for one evening, a launch document should not be readable a year later, and a limited run should stop when the run does.
Three controls cover almost all of it, and they can be added to a code that is already printed.
- 1
Add a password to gate the destination
Scanners land on a password screen instead of the destination. Useful for internal documents and anything you would rather was not forwarded onward.
- 2
Set an expiry date
After the date passes, scans land on an expired page rather than the destination. The code itself still resolves — it just resolves to a clear message instead of a dead page or a wrong one.
- 3
Cap it by scan count
Stop the code after a set number of scans. The count is reserved atomically, so two people scanning at the same moment cannot push it past the limit — which matters when the limit is the number of seats in a room.
- 4
Print, then adjust as the situation changes
All three are settings on the destination, so a code already in circulation can gain a password this afternoon or have its expiry pushed back a week.
- 5
Check the analytics either way
A protected code reports exactly like an unprotected one. Scans that hit the password screen, the expiry page or the scan cap are recorded with the same detail, so a gated campaign is not a blind spot.
What this will not do
- A password protects the destination, not the code. Anyone can still scan the square and see that something is there.
- These are not one-time-use or redeemable codes. A scan limit caps a shared link; it does not issue a unique code per person or track redemption.
- An expired or capped code does not un-print itself. Plan the message on the expiry page — it is what a late scanner will actually read.
Tools used in this guide
Questions
Other guides
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