Is your QR code rented?
A dynamic QR code points at a redirect that someone runs. If that someone is a generator on a trial or a free plan, the code you printed can stop working. Paste the link inside your code, or upload a photo of it, and this free checker follows the redirect, names who controls it, and shows what that generator's own documentation says happens next. No signup.
Three steps.
Scan the code with your phone camera and copy the link it shows, or upload a photo here. The photo is read on your device.
The checker follows each hop, one at a time, and records which service runs the first redirect.
Known generators and shorteners are matched against our two studies, with the policy their own documentation states.
What “rented” means for a QR code
A static QR code has the destination written into its pattern, so nothing sits in the middle and nothing can switch it off. A dynamic code holds a short link that a generator runs. That redirect is what lets you change the destination and count scans, and it is also the part you usually rent. In our July 2026 check of 15 popular generators, 8 could hand a free or trial user a dynamic code that later dies.
What the checker can and can’t tell you
It can tell you which service runs the redirect today, where the code ends up, and what that service's own terms say about free and trial codes. It can't see your account, so it can't tell whether your plan is paid. A code that runs through a generator we haven't studied is reported as such, never guessed.
If your code is rented
A printed code can't be moved to another service, because the link inside the pattern belongs to the generator. Keep it running until your next print run, and make that run's code one whose redirect you own. Whooshly's dynamic codes are part of a one-time $35, with a written pledge never to switch them off for non-payment.
Print a code nobody can switch off
Whooshly's dynamic QR codes point at a short link you own, so you can change the destination after printing and count every scan. They are part of the one-time $35 toolkit, and the permanence pledge commits in writing to never switching them off for non-payment.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find the link inside a QR code?
Point your phone camera at it: the link appears as a banner before it opens. Copy that and paste it here, or upload a photo of the code and the checker reads it on your device.
Does the checker store the links I check?
No. It follows the redirect when you ask and keeps a copy of the result for a day so a popular code isn't fetched over and over. Nothing ties a check to you, and the share text never includes the link itself.
My code says “No middleman”. Is that good?
It means the code opens the page directly, so no generator can switch it off. It lasts as long as that page does, but you can't change where it points or count scans.
Why does it say it couldn't confirm?
Some websites block automated checks, and some servers are simply down. Open the code on your phone to be sure, and try the check again later.
Tap. Whoosh. You're there.
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