What does the GPS Tracking switch do, and when to use it

Turn it on for a code

1. Create a new code, or open an existing one and click Edit.
2. On the Content step, expand Stats & Tracking (subtitle: "GPS tracking & retargeting pixels").
3. Switch GPS Tracking on.
4. Finish the wizard and click Update ✓ — or Download ✓ if you are creating the code.

The switch only appears on dynamic codes and only when you are signed in. A code with it enabled carries a Location badge on its detail page.

What the scanner actually sees

It depends on the type of code:

• Codes that redirect (a URL, a Google Maps link, a social profile) show a brief loading spinner titled "Redirecting…" while the browser asks for location, then move on. If nothing is granted within about a second and a half, the visitor continues anyway.
• Codes that show a hosted page (vCard, PDF, menu, event, feedback and similar) load the page immediately and ask for location on the page itself.

Either way the prompt is the browser's own, it names the site and not your business, and declining it never blocks the content.

Where the coordinates show up

• Analytics → Scan Locations — granted scans place a real pin on the map instead of a city-centre estimate.
• Recent scans, when a single code is selected — each row says whether the position came from GPS or is an IP estimate.
• Pincodes — rows marked (approx) are IP estimates; unmarked rows came from a real position.

Everything here needs a plan that includes location analytics, which is the free trial and the Business plan. The switch itself is locked on other plans, and a stale switch on a downgraded code never prompts scanners.

When it is worth turning on — and when it is not

Worth it when the position is the point:

• The same artwork is placed at many sites and you need to know which one is working.
• Field or event use where you want to confirm a code was scanned at the location it belongs to.
• Asset and equipment labels, where the label's own whereabouts is the question.

Leave it off when:

• City-level data already answers your question — that costs the scanner nothing.
• The code is on something personal or sensitive, where a location prompt reads as intrusive and costs you scans.
• You are optimising for the fastest possible hop to the destination.

Privacy and consent

You are asking members of the public for their precise position, so treat it as data you have to justify:

• Consent is the scanner's to give. The browser asks, and a refusal is final for that visit.
• Say why on the material next to the code, or on the page behind it, if the reason is not obvious.
• Collect it only where it serves a stated purpose, and turn the switch off once that campaign is over.
• Local privacy law may treat precise location as sensitive. Check what applies to you before rolling it out at scale.

Coordinates are attached to the anonymous scan record. They do not identify a person, and they are included in an account data export like the rest of your scan history.

Common problems

The switch is greyed out with an ADVANCED badge

The plan does not include location analytics. It is available on the Business plan and during the free trial.

No scanner ever gets a prompt

Check the switch is on for that specific code, that the code is dynamic, and that the plan still includes location analytics — the prompt is suppressed otherwise.

Every row still says the location is approximate

Scanners are declining the prompt, or the browser has already blocked location for the site. This is common and expected; the IP estimate is the fallback.

The redirect feels slower than before

It is — the loading page waits up to about a second and a half for an answer. Turn the switch off if speed matters more than precision. If you need the code locked down rather than located, see password protection.

Frequently asked questions