QR code analytics
Every dynamic QR code you generate on AQRHub is tracked from the first scan. Not just a number in the corner of the dashboard, but time series, device and geographic breakdown, bot filtering, and CSV export. This page is what to expect, what the data actually tells you, and what it will not.
Create a trackable QR code →QR code analytics is the reporting layer on every scan of a dynamic QR code: scan counts over time, device and geographic breakdown, per-code and campaign attribution, and bot-filtered verified scans. On AQRHub, every code you create is instrumented from the first scan, and Starter and Pro plans add CSV export so you can analyze the data alongside your other marketing channels.
A QR code without analytics is a rumor about your marketing
Without scan analytics, a printed QR code is a black box. You spent money on the flyer, the sign, the packaging, or the placement. You know somebody scanned it because a friend told you they saw it work. That is almost all the information you have.
Analytics turn that into a report. Two hundred and twelve scans this week. Fifty two percent iOS, forty three percent Android, five percent other. Sixty three percent between 5 pm and 9 pm. Big spike on Friday when the newsletter went out. The window sign is quadruple the receipt insert on scan rate but half on click through on the destination page.
That is a different conversation than an intuition about which flyer worked. It is the difference between spending next month's budget on more of what performs and spending it on more of what everyone assumed performed. Analytics do not make marketing decisions for you. They give you evidence to make them with.
Every metric we collect on a scan, and what it is good for
The lifetime count for each code. Good for comparing campaigns of similar duration. Available on every plan.
Day by day and hour by hour trend charts. Shows you when your audience actually engages with printed materials versus screens.
Approximate unique scanners derived from IP and device signals. A better read on actual reach than raw scan count.
iPhone versus Android versus other. Tells you whether the code is being scanned in a business context or a consumer context.
Version distribution of iOS and Android. Useful when picking a mobile experience that will hold up on the majority of phones actually scanning.
Safari versus Chrome versus in app browsers. Matters when the destination is a booking flow or portal that behaves differently in each.
Coarse geographic bucket derived from IP. Precise enough to compare stores across cities. Not precise enough to identify individuals.
The last few dozen scans in reverse chronological order. Useful when you want to confirm a specific print piece is working right after distribution.
Automated crawlers and scanners get filtered out of your verified count so the numbers you look at reflect actual people.
Distinguish what analytics tell you from what they only suggest
What the data reliably tells you
Whether a code is being scanned at all, and roughly how often. If a placement has zero scans in a month, it is either invisible, uninteresting, or missing a caption. All three are actionable.
Relative comparison across placements you can control. Two shelf codes, same store, same product family; the one with four times the scans is worth studying.
Time patterns. If lunch time drives 70 percent of scans on your window code, that is when your destination page needs to be up, fast, and current.
What the data only suggests
Absolute demand. A code with 900 scans might have been posted in a wildly better location than one with 90. Analytics compare codes, not audiences.
Conversion attribution. You know the scan happened. Whether the shopper ended up buying takes a separate tracking layer on the destination page.
Individual behavior. We report aggregate patterns from the redirect. We do not build user profiles across your codes and we do not attempt to identify individuals from IP or device signals.
The mechanics behind the numbers
The QR pattern encodes a short URL like aqr.hub/abc123. When a phone scans, the browser hits that URL, which is our redirect endpoint. We log the request, classify it, and forward the browser to your destination.
Google, Bing, Slack link previews, security scanners, and generic HTTP crawlers all hit these URLs. Our classifier tags each request, and only human and uncertain traffic counts toward your verified scan totals. Bot traffic is preserved in the raw counts if you need it.
Aggregations run continuously. The dashboard shows scan counts in near real time, time series updated hourly, and geographic and device breakdowns updated on the same cadence.
What each plan tier includes for analytics
What we log and how we handle it
Each scan logs a timestamp, a coarse geographic region derived from IP, a device family, an operating system family, a browser family, and a referrer if the scan came from a link rather than a camera. We do not log the destination page contents, form submissions, purchases, or any activity beyond the redirect itself.
Raw IP is used at the moment of the request for geolocation and rate limiting, then truncated in storage. We do not sell scan data. We do not use it to build profiles across customers. If your organization requires a written data handling summary for compliance, contact us and we will provide one.
The scan analytics are compatible with GDPR because they do not process personal data in a form that identifies an individual. If your organization is a data controller and your users would consider the destination side sensitive, that consent question is on your destination page, not on our redirect.
Common questions about QR code analytics
What counts as a scan?
A scan is any request to the redirect URL that the classifier tags as human or uncertain. A camera scan that goes through the phone browser counts. A tap on a shared link counts. A search engine crawler that requests the URL does not. Same for the Slack link preview bot and the security scanners that trawl short URLs.
How accurate is the geographic data?
Country is accurate for over 99 percent of requests. State is accurate for the majority. City is a best effort estimate derived from IP, which is roughly correct in metro areas and less useful in rural areas or when the visitor is on a corporate network or VPN. Use it for relative comparison across cities, not for individual level location.
Can I connect scan data to Google Analytics or another tool?
Yes, indirectly. Append UTM parameters to your destination URL when you set the code. Every scan lands on your destination page with the UTM tags, and Google Analytics or your other tool records them normally. That is how most customers reconcile scan level data with pageview and conversion data downstream.
How long do you keep scan history?
Free and Starter plans retain scan history for 12 months of rolling data. Pro retains full history for the life of the account. Aggregated daily totals are retained indefinitely so long term trend comparisons remain possible even after the raw log window rolls off.
Can I export the data to a spreadsheet?
Yes, on Starter and Pro plans. CSV export includes timestamp, device, browser, operating system, country, state, city, and classification for every scan in your chosen window. Import to Google Sheets, Excel, Looker Studio, or any other analysis tool.
Do you filter out my own test scans?
Not automatically. If you scan your own code from the QR detail page while logged in, we mark that scan as owner preview and it does not count toward the verified total. Scans from your regular phone, disconnected from your account, count like any other scan. Give yourself a preview URL from the dashboard when testing so your numbers stay clean.
What does a healthy scan pattern look like for a print campaign?
There is no universal benchmark; too much depends on placement, foot traffic, and clarity of the call to action. A useful internal benchmark is your own median across similar codes. If a new placement performs above your median, extend it. If it is far below, either the placement is wrong, the caption is unclear, or the destination is failing shoppers after they scan.
Are analytics available on static QR codes?
No. A static QR encodes the destination URL directly into the pattern, so scans go straight to your page without touching our servers. There is nothing to log. Any code that needs analytics has to be dynamic, which is why analytics and per-code QR code tracking are core benefits of the dynamic tier.
How do you filter out bots?
Every request to the redirect goes through our classifier. Search engine crawlers, link preview bots, and generic HTTP scanners are tagged and excluded from your verified scan count. Ambiguous traffic is counted so we do not undercount real scans. If you need the raw unfiltered counts, they are preserved and available alongside the verified numbers.
Can I compare campaigns or placements?
Yes. Give each placement its own dynamic QR code and compare the per-code dashboards side by side. Scan counts, time of day, device split, and geographic mix are all directly comparable across codes. This is how most customers decide which sign, flyer, or channel is worth extending and which is not.
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