A customer scans the QR code on your sign, and the first thing they see is a game ad, an "install this app" page, or a screen with a "continue" button. It makes the shop look careless. Some people close it straight away; some assume it is a scam.
The good news: when a QR scan shows ads, the cause can almost always be found, and fixed before you print.
The code itself cannot show ads
A QR code is a pattern that stores some text or a link. It cannot display anything on its own. Ads come from something along the way, from the app used to scan, or from the destination page. Four causes cover most cases.
1. A dynamic code on a free plan
Dynamic QR services make your code point at their own short link, which then forwards people to your destination (see how dynamic QR codes work). Some services use that moment to show an ad or an in-between page on free plans, and charge to remove it. Others switch to an "upgrade" page when a trial ends.
People often do not notice, because their first test may have been clean before the plan changed.
2. A link shortener with an interstitial
Some people shorten their link before making the code. Some shorteners show a waiting page or an ad before forwarding, with the same result for your customer.
3. The customer's scanner app
Sometimes the ad has nothing to do with your code. It comes from the scanner app the customer installed: many free scanner apps show ads around the result. If your phone's built-in camera opens the page cleanly, the app is the likely cause.
4. The destination page itself
If the code opens a page that already carries ads, such as some free website builders or file-sharing pages, customers see those ads too. Open the destination on a phone and look.
Five checks before printing
- Print one real sample and scan the paper, not the screen.
- Use the built-in camera app, on both an iPhone and an Android phone if you can.
- Check the first page that opens. An ad, a waiting screen or an upgrade prompt means something sits in between.
- Read the link inside the code with the QR reader, which shows the website name before you open it. If it is a service's address rather than your own destination, the link runs through that service.
- Read the plan terms of any service you used: ads or in-between pages on the free plan, scan limits, and what happens to printed codes when the trial ends.
On a trial somewhere? Note the end date and scan your sign again after it. For print size and testing, see QR print size and scan tests.
No statistics needed? Use a plain code
If you just want people to open a web page, add you on LINE or join the Wi-Fi, and you need neither scan counts nor a changeable destination, a plain QR code is the most direct route. It holds your data itself, with no service in the middle, so nothing can be inserted and there is no plan to run out. More in Do QR codes expire?
No ads on QRnaka
QRnaka has no ads, either on the site or on the way to your destination:
- Plain QR codes of every kind are free with no sign-up, and the code holds your data directly.
- Tracked QR codes (for members) send people straight to the destination, with no page in between and no ads.
- Photo QR codes (for members) open a photo page without ads.
Membership starts with a 30-day free trial, no card needed, then 49 baht a month or 365 baht a year. Details are on the membership page.
FAQ
A customer saw ads, but I cannot reproduce it. Why?
They are probably using a scanner app with ads. Ask which app they use, suggest the built-in camera, and check with the QR reader that the code points at your site.
Can I remove ads from a code that is already printed?
If the ads come from a service in the middle, that service controls the forwarding, so it depends on its terms. The sure fix is a new code that does not run through anyone, and a new print.
Can a plain QR code start showing ads later?
The code cannot: its data never changes and goes through no service. If ads still appear, look at the destination page or the scanner app.
Do QRnaka tracked codes have an in-between page?
No. They go straight to the destination, except when the owner has paused a code; scanners then see a page saying it is paused.
Want a code that goes straight where it should? Make one on the QR generator, free with no sign-up, or check an existing code first with the QR reader.
