Email QR Code Generator

The code encodes a mailto: link, so scanning it opens the phone's mail app with your address already filled in — plus the subject and message body, if you set them. Nothing is sent until the person presses send.

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How an email QR code opens a pre-filled message

The code encodes a mailto: link — the same scheme a mailto hyperlink on a web page uses. Scanning it opens the phone's default mail app with the recipient already filled in, and with the subject and body pre-filled if you supplied them. The user still presses send, so nothing is dispatched without their knowledge.

Pre-filling the subject is the part most people skip and the part that pays. A support code that opens a message with the subject already set to Warranty claim — model X200 tells you what the message is about before you read a word, and it lets you route mail with a simple filter. The same trick turns a poster into a working lead form: subject Quote request, body a couple of prompts the sender fills in.

Keep the body short. Long text makes a denser code and mail apps on some Android builds truncate very long pre-filled bodies. Three or four lines of prompts is the sweet spot.

Where it beats printing the address

A typed email address on a printed page is a small tax on the reader — they have to copy it accurately, on a phone, often with an autocorrect fighting them. A code removes that, and it removes the transcription errors that quietly lose enquiries.

  • Business cards and email signatures — one scan starts the reply
  • Product packaging and warranty cards — pre-filled subject routes support mail
  • Trade-show stands and posters — a lead-capture form that needs no app
  • Invoices and statements — a billing-query address with the invoice number in the subject
  • Property and vehicle signage — an enquiry with the reference already set

Address exposure and spam

A QR code is not obfuscation. Any scanner reveals the address as plain text, and a scraper pointed at a photo of your poster can read it just as easily as a human can. If the address is going on something public, use a role address such as hello@ or support@ rather than a personal mailbox, and put a filter behind it.

If the volume ever gets unpleasant, a static code pointing at a contact form on your own site gives you the same one-scan experience with a spam filter in front of it — and it is the only version you can change later without reprinting.

These are static QR codes — what that means for you

The code this page produces encodes your data directly in the pattern of black and white squares. Nothing is stored on our servers, no short link sits in the middle, and no account is involved. A phone camera reads the squares, decodes the text and acts on it. That is why the generator keeps working with your browser offline, and why there is no scan limit, no expiry date and no monthly fee.

The trade-off is that a static code cannot be edited after it is printed. The destination is baked into the image. If you print 5,000 flyers pointing at example.com/summer and then move that page, every flyer is dead. Dynamic codes — the ones behind most paid QR services — encode a short redirect URL instead, so the owner can repoint it later and count scans. They also stop working the day the service that hosts the redirect goes away or the subscription lapses, which is a real risk for anything meant to outlive a marketing budget.

A practical middle ground costs nothing: point the static code at a URL you control and can redirect yourself, such as yoursite.com/menu. You keep the free, permanent, no-dependency code, and you keep the ability to change where it lands.

Sizing, printing and testing before you commit

The rule of thumb scanners have used for years is a 10:1 ratio — the code should be roughly one tenth of the distance it will be scanned from. A code read at arm's length (about 30 cm) works at 3 cm across; a poster read from 3 m needs about 30 cm. Below about 2 cm printed, cheap phone cameras start to struggle regardless of resolution.

Download the SVG rather than the PNG for anything going to print. SVG is vector, so it stays crisp at any size a printer can produce, and it is what design software expects. The PNG is the right choice for slides, emails and social posts where a fixed pixel size is what you want.

Keep the quiet zone — the empty white margin around the pattern is part of the specification, not decoration, and cropping it is the single most common reason a printed code fails. Keep the dark modules dark on a light background; inverted codes are read by fewer scanners than people assume. Then test the real artefact, not the screen: print it at final size, scan it with an iPhone and an Android phone, in the light the code will actually live in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does scanning send the email automatically?

No. It opens the user's mail app with the recipient, subject and body pre-filled. They read it, edit it if they want and press send themselves. No mail is ever sent by the code alone.

Can I pre-fill the subject and message?

Yes — both fields are optional and both are encoded into the mailto: link. A pre-set subject is the single most useful thing you can add, because it lets you filter and route the incoming mail without asking the sender to do anything.

Which app opens when someone scans it?

Whatever the phone has set as its default mail app — Apple Mail, Gmail, Outlook or another client. If no mail account is configured on the device, nothing opens, which is the one real limitation of mailto: codes.

Will this get my address scraped by spammers?

It can. The address is plain text inside the code and readable by any scanner or bot that photographs it. For anything public, use a role address like support@ with filtering behind it rather than a personal mailbox.

Can I add CC or BCC recipients?

This generator encodes the recipient, subject and body. Adding CC or BCC is possible in the mailto: spec but is inconsistently supported across mobile mail apps, so it is left out rather than shipped as something that silently fails on some phones.

How long can the message body be?

Technically long, practically short. Every character makes the code denser and harder to scan, and some mail apps truncate very long pre-filled bodies. Keep it to a few short prompt lines.

Does the code work offline?

The code opens the mail app offline and the draft is composed fine, but the message sits in the outbox until the phone has a connection.

Is my email address uploaded to your servers?

No. The QR code is generated in your browser and the address never leaves your device.

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