How to track QR code scans (and what the data tells you)
Scan tracking is free with the right kind of code. Here's what you actually get.
You can track scans only on a dynamic QR code, because tracking needs a server in the middle to record each visit. A static code sends the phone straight to your link with nothing watching, so there's nothing to count. If scan data matters to you, that decision is made before you ever print.
What a scan event records
Each scan event typically captures the time of the scan, an approximate region derived from the visitor's IP address, and the device or browser type. Put together over days and weeks, that tells you volume, timing, and rough geography.
What the numbers tell you
- Volume: is anyone actually scanning? A flyer with ten scans and a flyer with a thousand are very different flyers.
- Timing: when do scans happen? A menu that spikes at dinner and a poster that spikes after an event each tell a story.
- Geography: roughly where are people scanning? Useful when the same code lives in more than one place.
What it can't tell you
A scan is not a person. The same phone scanning twice counts twice, and an approximate region is not a precise location. Treat scan data as a strong signal of attention, not a perfect headcount.
Every TangoQR code records scans from the moment it exists, on every plan, so the history is there waiting when you want it.