# Static QR code

> A static QR code contains its destination directly in the pattern. It cannot be edited or tracked, and it never expires — because nothing has to keep running for it to work.

Source: https://useqr.app/glossary/static-qr-code · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

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## What that actually means

The URL, WiFi credentials or contact record are physically encoded in the black and white
squares. Scanning does not consult any server belonging to whoever generated the code.

Consequences:

- **It cannot expire.** No subscription, no account, no service to shut down.
- **It cannot be edited.** Changing the destination means a new code.
- **It cannot be tracked** by the generator, because the generator is not in the path.
- **It is private.** No third party learns that anyone scanned it.

## The editability workaround

Point a static code at a URL on **your own domain** and change the redirect server-side.
You get editability and analytics without handing a third party control over your printed
material. This is what most people actually want when they ask for a dynamic code.

Every code UseQR generates is static, by design.