How do I delete a QR code, and what happens to its scan data?

Steps to delete a QR code

1. Export the scans first if you need them. Open the code and use Export CSV, which is available while your trial or paid plan is active. Once the code is gone, so is the data.
2. Open the ⋮ menu. It sits at the right-hand end of the code's row in My QR Codes, or in the button row on the code's own page.
3. Choose Delete. On the code's page the dialog is titled Delete QR Code and warns that all scan analytics will also be lost; from the list it is titled Remove QR code and reads: The QR code "{name}" will be permanently deleted. This action cannot be undone.
4. Confirm. The code disappears from the list straight away.

What happens to the scan data

The scan history belongs to the code, so it goes when the code goes. It stops appearing in analytics, in totals and in exports.

To keep a record, export before you delete. The per-code export contains one row per scan with Scan Time, Device, OS, Browser, Country, City, IP Address and Referrer. The export covers the date range currently loaded on the page, so widen the range — up to 12 months — before exporting. Full details are in exporting scan analytics to CSV.

What people with a printed copy see

A dynamic code that has been deleted shows a page titled QR Code Unavailable: "This QR code is no longer active. Please contact the person or business who shared it with you." It is a neutral page — it does not name you, your account or the old destination.

A deleted static code is different. Its content lives in the printed pattern, so scanners still reach whatever it encodes; deleting it only removes it from your dashboard.

When to archive instead

Archiving takes a code offline just as fast, but keeps the record and can be undone. Use it when the campaign is over rather than wrong, when the code is seasonal, or when you only want to free a slot against your plan's dynamic-code limit.

The side-by-side is in archiving versus deleting a QR code.

Common problems

I deleted the wrong code

It cannot be recovered. Create a replacement and reprint — the old printed pattern cannot be re-pointed at the new code.

Deleting did not free up a slot

Only active codes count towards the plan limit, so if you were already over the limit because of archived codes, deleting them changes nothing about the count. Check what happens when you are over your plan limit.

I want the code gone but the data kept

Archive it. Archived codes stop redirecting, keep their analytics and do not count against your limit.

The code is on printed material I cannot recall

Do not delete it. Edit it instead and point it at a page that explains the change — that is the whole advantage of a dynamic code.

Frequently asked questions