What happens to your QR codes when you stop paying
If you are about to put a code on fifty thousand boxes, this is the question that matters most, and it is the one almost nobody answers on their pricing page. Here is our answer, and how to get a straight one out of anybody else.
Why the question is unavoidable
A dynamic QR code is a redirect. The code printed on your packaging encodes a short link, and the provider decides what that link does. That arrangement is what lets you change a destination without reprinting — and it is also why the printed artwork depends on a company continuing to exist and continuing to honour its terms.
Static codes have the opposite problem. They depend on nobody, and they can never be changed. Once the page they encode moves, every copy is dead and the only remedy is a reprint.
What we do, precisely
| Event | What happens to your codes |
|---|---|
| A payment fails | Nothing changes |
| You cancel | Redirect for at least 30 more days |
| The 30 days end | Codes pause. Nothing is deleted |
| You come back, any plan | Everything restored, history included |
A failed card is not a cancellation
An expired card is an administrative accident, not a decision. Your subscription keeps entitling while the payment provider retries, so nothing printed stops working because somebody was issued a new card.
Thirty days, with a warning
When a subscription ends, every existing code keeps redirecting for at least thirty days. You get an email before that window closes, so the deadline is not something you discover from a customer.
Paused is not deleted
This is the distinction that matters. When the grace period ends, codes stop redirecting — they are not removed. The code, its slug, its destination and its entire scan history stay where they are. Choosing any plan brings all of it back exactly as it was.
We could delete them. It would be cheaper. We do not, because the cost of being wrong falls on somebody who has printed something, and that is not a cost we get to impose.
All of this is in our terms of service, not only on this page. If a provider tells you something reassuring in a sales conversation, ask which clause says so.
Four questions worth asking any provider
- What happens to my codes if I stop paying? Look for a number of days, in writing, not a reassuring adjective.
- Are codes deleted or paused? Deleted means the slug can be reissued to someone else. Think about what that means for printed material.
- What happens when a card fails? If a failed payment switches codes off, an administrative slip becomes a production incident.
- Where is this written down? Ask for the clause. A promise that only exists in marketing copy is worth what you paid for it.
What we would tell you not to do
Do not print a dynamic code for something that will never change. A restaurant menu that is revised weekly is a good candidate. A serial number is not. If the destination is genuinely permanent, a static code from a free generator is the right answer and depends on nobody at all.
Questions
What happens to my QR codes if I stop paying?
They keep redirecting for at least 30 days after the subscription ends, and we email you before that window closes. After it does the codes pause rather than disappear. Nothing is deleted, the scan history is kept, and taking any plan restores everything exactly as it was.
Are my codes deleted when I cancel?
No. Codes are paused, never deleted, and neither is their scan history. A paused code stops redirecting; it does not stop existing.
What happens if my card fails?
Nothing switches off. The subscription keeps working while the payment provider retries, which usually runs for around two weeks. A card expiring is not the same as a decision to cancel, and it should not be treated as one.
My QR Code makes dynamic QR codes for print. Fourteen days free, two codes, no card required.
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