QR Code to Download an App: One Code for the App Store and Google Play

The simplest way to make a QR code to download an app is to use a single code of the app store type: it detects which phone the person is using and sends iPhones to the App Store and Android phones to Google Play. On a computer, a page shows up with both stores so the person can choose, and you don't have to print two codes side by side.

What's the problem with using one QR code per store?

The old way is to print two QR codes, each with its store badge underneath. It works, but it costs a lot in attention. People have to figure out which one is theirs, point the camera at just that one and hope the phone doesn't pick up its neighbor. Someone with an iPhone scans the Android one, lands on Google Play and gives up. There goes one download.

And then there's the space. Two codes take up twice as much as one, and each needs its own clear margin around it. On a counter, a shopping bag or a card, that space is better spent on what matters: saying why your app is worth downloading.

With a single QR code, the choice is taken out of the reader's hands. The code detects the system and sorts it out on its own.

How does the app store QR code work?

The QR code stores an address on the site, in the format qrcodegratuito.com.br/app, followed by your app's ID in the App Store and its package name on Google Play. When someone scans it:

• iPhone or iPad: goes straight to the app's page in the App Store.
• Android: goes straight to the app's page on Google Play.
• Computer or any other device: opens a page with the app's name and buttons for both stores.

That's why it's the only one of the 9 QR Code Free Forever types that goes through our server: someone has to look at the device at the moment of the scan. The other eight store the content in the design itself and keep working even if the site goes down. This one depends on our address to make the choice, and that's why it has rules of its own.

The main one is about safety. The QR code doesn't carry just any link, only the app's ID and package name, and the destination is always the app's official page in one of the two stores. Nobody can use a QR code like this to send people to a fake site. And if abuse shows up, like a malicious app, the QR code can be deactivated, as the terms of use explain.

How to get your app's links in the stores

1. App Store, on iPhone: open the app's page, tap Share, then Copy link. The address has "id" followed by numbers, like apps.apple.com/us/app/name/id123456789.
2. Google Play, on Android: open the app's page, tap the three dots, then Share. The address has "?id=" and the package name, like play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.company.app.
3. On a computer: open the app's page at apps.apple.com and at play.google.com and copy the address from the browser bar.

If you prefer, the generator also accepts just the data that matters: the app's ID in the App Store (the digits after "id") and the package name on Google Play.

How to create the QR code to download your app, step by step

1. Open the app store QR code generator and paste the App Store link and the Google Play link, each in its own field.
2. Check the app name the generator found in each store. It looks up both and shows what it found.
3. Customize the colors and the shape of the dots and corners if you like, always with dark dots on a light background.
4. Check the result of the scan test, which warns you when the QR code might fail.
5. Download it as PNG, from 200 to 4,000 px, or as SVG, the right format for the print shop.
6. Test with an iPhone and an Android before printing.

Where to promote the app QR code

Anywhere your audience has a phone in hand and a free minute:

• Packaging, shopping bags and receipts: the product goes home and takes the invitation along. Printing tips are in QR codes on packaging.
• Delivery and menu: your own ordering or loyalty app, printed on the bag or on the table.
• Connected products: the box and manual of the lightbulb, camera or earbuds that work with an app.
• Events: badge, entrance sign and big screen, with the schedule app.
• Your website, for people on a computer: they point their phone at the screen and land in the right store.

Are app QR code scans counted?

Yes, anonymously. Since every scan goes through the server, only the system (iPhone, Android or computer), the approximate city and the time are recorded. The IP address isn't stored, and none of it identifies who scanned. Link previews, like the one that shows up when someone shares the address in a chat, don't count as scans.

To track actual downloads, use the stores' own dashboards, App Store Connect and Google Play Console. And the scan counter with statistics (how many, when, which city, iPhone or Android), along with the QR code you can edit after printing, will be part of the Pro plan, which has a waitlist.

What to check before printing

• App published on both stores: an app in closed testing or pulled from the store doesn't show up, and the QR code is left with no destination.
• Contrast and margin: dark dots on a light background, with some clear breathing room around the code.
• Both systems: test on an iPhone and an Android phone, preferably with each one's native camera.

Create a free app QR code