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Do Canva, Chrome and Adobe Express QR codes expire?

You made a QR code in a free design tool or in your browser, and you want to know if it will still work next year. Here is what each tool says about its own codes, and how to check yours in a minute.

Create a code that won't be switched off Read our no-expiry pledge

The short version

  • Adobe Express: its codes are static and, in Adobe's words, they "never expire".
  • Canva: a code never expires unless someone sets an expiry date, which Canva Business, Enterprise and Nonprofit accounts can do.
  • Chrome: Google's help page does not say. Scan the code and read the address it shows.

Canva

Canva makes two kinds of code. Its help centre describes "Static QR Codes for a quick, fixed link, and Dynamic QR codes for a link you can update later and track". A static Canva code holds your link in its pattern, so it cannot be edited or switched off.

A dynamic Canva code passes each scan through Canva. The help centre says: "Without an expiry date, your QR code never expires." On Canva Business, Enterprise and Nonprofit, someone can set an expiry date. After it, scans go to a page they choose, or to Canva's generic error page.

Dynamic codes made on the Free and Pro plans show the Canva logo by default. Canva's help pages do not say what happens to dynamic codes when a paid plan ends. If your code is dynamic and came from a team account, check its settings for an expiry date before you print.

Adobe Express

Adobe's QR code page says "Adobe Express generates static QR codes", and that codes made with it "never expire". A static code holds the address itself, so no Adobe server sits between the scan and your page.

The flip side is that you cannot change where it goes. If the page moves, you need a new code. When an Adobe Express code stops working, the usual cause is a page that has moved or gone.

Chrome

Chrome can make a QR code for the page you are on. Google's help page explains how to create, download and share it. It does not say what the code contains or whether it expires.

You can check in a few seconds. Scan the code with your phone and read the address it shows. If it is the page's own address, no company sits in between, and the code works as long as that page exists.

How to check any QR code before you print

  1. Scan it. Read the address your phone shows before you open it.
  2. Your own address means static. Nobody can switch it off. It works while the page exists.
  3. A short address from a QR company means dynamic. It works while that company keeps forwarding it. Check the account it was made in for an expiry date or plan limits.
  4. Print a proof. Make it at least 2 cm wide, dark on light, with a clear margin, on matt paper. Scan it with two phones.

When you need a code you can change

A static code from any of these tools is fine for a page that will never move. For a menu, a price list or an event page, you need a dynamic code. QR Lasts makes both. A static QR code needs no account. A dynamic QR code needs a free account and keeps redirecting whether or not you pay. We stop a code only for abuse, checked with Google Web Risk. If the site ever closes, you get 12 months' notice and an export of your codes.

Sources

Plans and help pages change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

Create a code that won't be switched off Read our no-expiry pledge