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Guide · Getting customers to write first · For the owner printing menus and signage

WhatsApp QR codes and short links: the free way to get customers to message you first

A WhatsApp QR code or short link opens a chat with your business the moment a customer scans or taps it, with a message of your choosing already typed in. The customer writes first, which opens the 24-hour window, costs you nothing to receive, and needs no template to answer. Meta lets a business number carry up to 2,000 of them, each editable or deletable at any time.

Published 1 October 2026 · Updated 13 October 2026

What they are

QR code
An image a customer scans with their phone camera. WhatsApp opens on a chat with your number and a prefilled message of up to 140 characters, ready to send.
Short link
The same thing as a web address: a wa.me link ending in a random code. On a phone it opens WhatsApp; on a desktop it opens the WhatsApp desktop app, or prompts the person to install it.
Prefilled message
The text waiting in the box when the chat opens. You choose it, you can change it later without reprinting anything, and a customer can edit it before sending.

Why a business wants customers to write first

Everything you send is either a reply inside a 24-hour window or a template message outside it. A customer who scans a code opens the window themselves. Their message is never charged, and your typed replies inside the window are free within Meta's monthly allowance; the guide to the 1 October reply charge has the terms. A conversation that starts from a QR code also sits outside your daily limit on new conversations, because you did not start it.

How a short link improves on the old wa.me link

The link many businesses already use puts the phone number and the message text in the address itself. Meta's page lists three things the managed short link does better.

The message can change after printing
The prefilled text lives in your account, not in the link. Edit it for a new season and every printed code and link starts carrying the new text.
The number is hidden
The link is a random code, so the address on your poster does not expose the business number to scrapers.
A retired code says so
Delete a code and anyone who scans it later sees a clear message that it has expired, rather than a chat opening with stale text.

Two more behaviours worth knowing. A customer who blocked you earlier and scans your code is asked whether they want to unblock you to continue. And a scan goes straight into WhatsApp with no web page in between.

Where to make them, and the limits

Codes and links are created, edited and deleted in Meta Business Suite or WhatsApp Manager, or through the API by whoever runs your system. Meta's page sets three limits.

Per number
At most 2,000 QR codes and short links on one business phone number.
Per message
The prefilled text is at most 140 characters.
No scan analytics
Meta does not report how many times a code was scanned, by design, to limit what it logs about users. If you need to know which poster works, give each location its own code with its own prefilled text and read the opening messages.

Codes do not expire on their own. A code for a promotion that ended should be deleted, or its message changed, or it keeps opening chats with last year's offer.

A business on the WhatsApp Business app does none of that. WhatsApp's Help Center says the app makes a short link and a QR code for the account automatically, found under Tools, then Short link, then View QR Code. The code does not expire unless it is reset or the account is deleted, and a business username, if there is one, shows on it. From the same screen:

The default message
Turn on Message and write the text a customer sees already typed when they scan or tap, up to 140 characters. They can change it before sending. The Help Center's examples are asking about upcoming sales and asking to join a newsletter.
Resetting the code
Reset link makes the old code stop working when scanned, and the new one has to be shared again. The Help Center suggests it when a code posted on social media is being used by spammers.
Sharing it
Under View QR Code, Share code or Share link sends it to a contact or another app, with a message you can edit first. The Help Center also suggests text message, email, or printing it for a shop counter. It notes that WhatsApp's own camera only scans official WhatsApp QR codes.
How a customer scans it
WhatsApp's Help Center gives customers three ways: in WhatsApp, Settings, the QR code next to their name, then Scan code; the camera inside WhatsApp; or a saved picture of the code picked from the phone's gallery. Each ends with Continue to chat.
Printing it
Save the code as a photo, crop the image to the code alone and print it. WhatsApp's sticker template needs the code printed at 8 cm square.
Opening the link in a browser
Instead of a chat, the person sees a page with the business information and a Continue to chat button. The profile picture shows there only if it is shared with everyone in the privacy settings.

Our reading: one code on the app, so reset with care

The app's articles describe a single code and link for the account. Resetting it breaks every menu, sticker and flyer already printed, so reset only when spam makes reprinting worth it. A separate code for each location, as suggested below, needs Meta's developer platform.

Using them well

  1. Print the vector file. Meta recommends downloading the code as an SVG, which scales to a menu, a van or a shop window without blurring.
  2. Do not restyle the code. Meta's page says recolouring or decorating the code itself risks making it unreadable. Put your brand around it, not in it.
  3. One code per place or purpose. "I saw your sign at the Marina branch" and "I want a quote for packaging" tell your team where the customer came from and what they want, which is the analytics Meta does not provide.
  4. Match the language to the location. Meta leaves that to you: an Arabic prefilled message for the Arabic side of the menu, English for the other.
  5. Make sure someone answers inside 24 hours. The window the customer opened closes a day after their last message. After that, the next word from you is a template, and templates are charged. The guide to the 24-hour window explains it.

Questions

Can a customer scan our WhatsApp QR code from a screenshot?

Yes. WhatsApp's Help Center says a customer can open Scan code in WhatsApp's settings, or the camera inside WhatsApp, and pick a saved picture of the code from the gallery, then tap Continue to chat. That helps when the code is posted on social media or sent as an image.

Why won't the WhatsApp camera scan our QR code?

WhatsApp's Help Center says the camera inside WhatsApp can only scan official WhatsApp QR codes, such as the one the WhatsApp Business app makes under Tools, then Short link. Our reading: a code made with another QR generator may need the phone's own camera instead, so the app's own code is the safer one to print.

Is a WhatsApp QR code free?

Creating one is free, and a customer's message to you is never charged. Your typed replies inside the 24-hour window are free within Meta's monthly allowance per number. Nothing about the code itself costs anything.

Do I need opt-in from a customer who scans my code?

A customer who scans and sends the message has started the conversation; your replies inside the window are answers to them. Opt-in is Meta's rule for conversations the business starts, and it applies the moment you want to message them after the window closes. The opt-in guide covers it.

Can I see how many people scanned?

Not from Meta. Its page says analytics are not available for QR codes and short links because it limits the data it logs about users. Use a different prefilled message per code and count the opening messages.

Where is the QR code in the WhatsApp Business app?

Tap Tools, then Short link, then View QR Code. On Android it is also in Settings, behind the QR code icon. WhatsApp's Help Center says the code does not expire unless you reset it or delete the account.

What happens if we reset our WhatsApp Business app QR code?

The old code stops working when scanned, and the new one has to be shared again. WhatsApp's Help Center suggests resetting a code posted on social media that spammers are using.

What happens to codes on old flyers?

They keep working until you delete them, since codes do not expire. Delete a code and a later scan shows a message that it has expired. Or change its prefilled text, and the old flyers start a current conversation.

Sources

More plain-language notes like this one are on the guides page.

Want a code on every menu and sign, and someone answering within the hour?

We set up a business's WhatsApp number on a proper system with a code per location, the opening messages routed to the right person, and the 24-hour window watched so no customer is left for a paid template. A short call is the easiest way to see whether it fits your business.

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