Email QR Code Generator

An email QR code encodes a mailto: address, optionally with a subject line and message body attached, so scanning it opens a new draft in whatever mail app the phone uses with the fields already filled in. Nothing sends by itself — the person always sees the draft and taps send — which makes it a good fit for feedback cards, support stickers on equipment, event RSVPs and anywhere a written-out address would be mistyped. Pre-filling the subject is the underused part: give each placement its own subject line and your inbox sorts itself without any tracking. The code is generated in your browser and is static, so it costs nothing, never expires and works without a signal at the moment of scanning. The one thing to think about before printing is that a published address is a scrapeable address.

How mailto: encoding works

The code contains a mailto: URI: the address, then subject and body as query parameters. Spaces, line breaks and punctuation in those parameters have to be percent-encoded, which is why a subject typed with an ampersand can silently truncate everything after it in tools that skip the escaping. This generator encodes the parameters properly.

Because it is a URI rather than a message, nothing is transmitted at scan time. The phone hands the string to its default mail client, which composes a draft locally. If the person has no mail app configured, the scan appears to do nothing at all — the commonest support question about email codes, and not something the code itself can fix.

Use the subject line as your routing

A pre-filled subject is free segmentation. Print one code with the subject Warranty claim on the packaging, another with Showroom enquiry on the display card, and the two arrive in your inbox pre-labelled without a tracking service or a redirect in between.

Keep the pre-filled body short and treat it as a prompt rather than a script. A body that already contains three paragraphs reads as a form to be edited and gets abandoned; a single line like "Order number:" gets filled in.

Publishing an address means publishing it

A printed email code exposes the address to anyone who scans it, and photographs of posters end up online. Address-harvesting is largely automated, so treat a code on public signage the same way you would treat the address in plain text on a web page.

The practical answer is a role address rather than a personal one: support@, hello@ or a purpose-made alias you can retire if it starts attracting spam. It also survives staff changes, which a personal address printed on a thousand leaflets does not.

When a form works better

Email is the right choice when the reply needs to be a conversation, when attachments are likely, or when the scanner may be offline at the moment of scanning and will send later from their drafts.

A link to a web form is better when you need structured answers, want the response to land in a ticketing system, or need fields the person cannot forget to include. The trade-off is that a form requires a working connection and a browser; email degrades more gracefully.

Frequently asked questions

What happens when someone scans an email QR code?

Their default mail app opens a new draft with your address in the To field, plus any subject and body you pre-filled. They just press send.

Does the email send automatically?

No, and it cannot. The code only opens a draft — the person reads it and taps send themselves. Anything that claimed to send on scan would be sending from their account without consent.

Will pre-filled subject and body work on every phone?

The subject is reliable across iOS and Android mail apps. The body is nearly as reliable but occasionally dropped by third-party clients, so put anything essential in the subject rather than the body.

Should I use my personal address?

Better not to on anything printed and public. Use a role address like support@ or a dedicated alias — it can be retired if it starts collecting spam, and it survives the person who set it up moving on.