QR Code Geofencing: Limit Scans by Location

QR code geofencing limits where a QR code opens. You choose a city, region, or country, and only people who scan from inside that area reach your link or file. Everyone else sees a restricted-access message. The location is not stored in the printed pattern. The code is dynamic, so each scan goes to the QR service first, which checks where the scan is coming from and then forwards it or stops it. On QRelix you create a QR code, switch on Geofencing in the Settings step, and pick the allowed area. Geofencing is part of QRelix Pro at $5.99 per month. The free plan covers creating, designing, and tracking codes, with 50 scans per code and a brief QRelix screen on each scan.

How QR code geofencing works

A QR code is a pattern that stores a short piece of text, usually a web address. It cannot check where a phone is. The check happens online, after the scan.

• Someone scans the code with their phone camera.
• The phone opens the short link stored in the code. That link belongs to QRelix.
• QRelix looks up the approximate location of the scan from the phone's IP address.
• A scan from inside the allowed area goes on to your link or file. A scan from outside it stops at a restricted-access message.

Two things follow from this. Only a dynamic code can be geofenced, because a static code sends the phone straight to the destination with nothing in between. And the allowed area can be added, changed, or removed after the code is printed, because it is a setting in your dashboard and not part of the printed squares. The static vs. dynamic comparison explains the two types.

The person scanning does not install an app and is not asked to share their location. The phone camera reads the code and the rest happens in the browser.

How to set up a geofenced QR code

Step 1: Create the code

Sign in to QRelix and click Create New QR Code. Choose the type that matches what you are sharing: URL for a web page, File to upload a PDF or an image, or another type from the list.

Step 2: Turn on Geofencing

In the Settings step, switch Geofencing on and define the allowed area by choosing a city, a region, or a country. This setting needs a Pro account.

Step 3: Design and download

Set your colors, add a logo if you want one, and generate the code. Download SVG for anything printed and PNG for slides, emails, and screens.

Step 4: Test it from inside and outside the area

Scan the code yourself from inside the allowed area and check that the destination opens. Then ask someone outside the area to scan a photo of the code and confirm they see the restricted-access message. If your own scan is blocked while you are standing inside the area, widen the area. The next section explains why that can happen.

Adding a geofence to a code you already printed

Open the code from your dashboard, click Edit, and switch Geofencing on. The change applies to the next scan and the printed code does not change. Widening the area or removing the geofence works the same way.

How accurate QR code geofencing is

QRelix works out location from the scanner's IP address. That choice keeps the scan quick, because nobody has to tap through a location prompt, and it sets the level of precision you should plan for.

• It works at city level, not building level. An IP address points to a city in most cases. It cannot tell your shop from the one across the street, or one hall of a convention center from the next.
• Phones on mobile data can show up in a nearby city. A phone's connection is sometimes routed through another city, so a scan made in a suburb can look like it came from the larger city next door.
• A VPN can get around it. Someone using a VPN appears to be wherever the VPN server is. Treat a geofence as a filter for ordinary scans. It is not a lock.
• No GPS is involved. The geofence check does not ask the phone for its position.

In practice, draw the area a little wider than you think you need. A country or region fence is the most dependable. A city fence is fine for a local campaign, but if being blocked by mistake would cost you a customer, choose the region.

What to use a geofenced QR code for

• Regional offers. A coupon on a mailer that should only open in the state where your stores are.
• Country-specific content. A product page, a contest, or a document that you are only allowed to show in certain countries because of licensing or regulation.
• Local campaigns. A code on posters around one city that opens a sign-up page for residents and turns away scans of a photo shared elsewhere.
• Franchise or dealer territories. Each territory gets its own code that opens only in that territory, so offers do not cross over.
• Shipping areas. An order form that should only reach people in the region you deliver to.

A geofence is the wrong tool for proving that someone is in a particular room or building, such as class attendance or a single store. City-level location cannot show that. For those cases, say a password out loud in the room and use a password protected QR code.

A worked example

A grocery chain with stores in one state mails a flyer with a QR code for a $10 coupon. The coupon is only good at its own stores, so the code is geofenced to that state. The flyer is printed once.

A week later someone posts a photo of the flyer on a national deals forum. People in other states scan the photo and see the restricted-access message, while customers at home open the coupon as usual. The analytics dashboard shows how many scans the geofence blocked, so the marketing team can see how far the photo traveled without paying for coupons they cannot honor.

When the offer ends, the team opens the code in the dashboard, removes the geofence, and points the same code at the weekly ad. Nobody reprints anything.

Combine a geofence with other access controls

Geofencing is one of four access controls in QRelix Pro, and they can be combined on the same code.

• Password. The scanner has to type a password before the code opens. See how to make a password protected QR code.
• Expiration date. The code stops opening at a date and time you choose. See how to set a QR code with an expiration date.
• Scan limit. A daily cap, a total cap, or both. The QR code scan limit guide has the setup steps.

When more than one control is on, QRelix checks the geofence first, then the password, then the scan limit, then the expiration date. A coupon for the first 200 local customers would use a geofence and a total scan limit together. The security and access controls guide describes each setting.

Geofencing is not the same as location tracking

The two are easy to mix up. Location tracking records where scans come from and shows you the city, region, and country in your analytics. It is included on every QRelix plan, and it never stops a scan. Geofencing uses the same kind of location information to decide whether a scan is allowed through. If you only want to see where your scans happen, you do not need a geofence. The guide to QR code location tracking covers that side.

What QR code geofencing costs on QRelix

• Free ($0, no credit card). Unlimited dynamic QR codes, every QR code type, editable destinations, custom colors and logo, and scan analytics with location. Each code works for its first 50 scans and shows a brief QRelix screen before forwarding. After 50 scans the code pauses until you upgrade. Geofencing is not part of the free plan.
• Pro ($5.99 per month). Unlimited scans so codes never pause, no QRelix screen, and the security suite: password protection, expiration dates, and geofencing.

You can create and design the code on the free plan and add the geofence once you are on Pro. Upgrading does not change the QR image, so anything already printed keeps working. The dynamic QR code cost guide compares the two plans, and current details are on the pricing page.

Questions about QR code geofencing

Can I geofence a QR code for free?

On QRelix, geofencing is part of Pro at $5.99 per month. The free plan lets you create, customize, and track dynamic codes, with 50 scans per code and a brief QRelix screen on each scan.

What do people outside the area see?

They see a restricted-access message in place of your content. They are not sent to your link or file.

Does the scanner have to share their location?

No. For the geofence, QRelix estimates location from the IP address of the scan. There is no location prompt and no app to install.

Can I limit a QR code to one building or one street?

No. The allowed area is a city, a region, or a country, and IP-based location is accurate to about city level.

Can I change the area after the code is printed?

Yes. Edit the code in your dashboard and choose a different area, or switch Geofencing off. The printed code stays the same and the change applies right away.

Can a static QR code be geofenced?

No. A static code holds the destination itself, so the phone goes straight there and nothing can check the location on the way. Geofencing needs a dynamic code.

Make your geofenced QR code

Create a QR code on QRelix with no credit card, then turn on Geofencing with Pro at $5.99 per month. Each free code works for its first 50 scans and shows a brief QRelix screen before forwarding.