Terms of service

Qrop provides a QR code generation platform (a web-based generator and a REST API) for creating QR codes in various formats and styles. Free tiers are available for anonymous visitors and registered accounts. Paid credit packs and API subscription plans are available for higher-volume use, and accounts with purchased credits or a plan can create tracked codes and campaigns (section 5).

You may use Qrop only for lawful purposes. You must not generate QR codes that:

• Link to phishing pages, credential-harvesting sites, or malware.
• Encode content that is illegal under South African law or the law of your jurisdiction.
• Distribute spam, unsolicited bulk communications, or deceptive advertising.
• Impersonate another person, organisation, or brand without authorisation.
• Facilitate fraud, identity theft, or financial crime.
• Violate the intellectual property rights of any third party (e.g. encoding copyrighted content or registered trademarks you do not own or have permission to use).

The same applies to the destination of a tracked code. We may disable a tracked code, or suspend access, without notice if we determine, in our sole discretion, that your use violates these terms or harms the service or other users.

API keys are your responsibility. An API key is shown in full only once, at creation; we store only a salted hash. You must:

• Keep API keys confidential. Do not commit them to version control or expose them in client-side code.
• Revoke any key you believe has been compromised, immediately, from your dashboard.
• Ensure any application or system that uses your key complies with these terms.

You are responsible for all activity carried out using your API keys or account credentials, whether or not authorised by you.

Credit packs are one-time purchases. Purchased credits do not expire on a billing cycle; they remain in your balance until used. However, your free monthly registered-account allowance resets at the start of each billing period and unused free credits do not roll over.

Credits are consumed when a QR code is successfully generated. Credits are not consumed for requests that fail validation before generation begins (for example, a colour-contrast rejection). A tracked code also uses credits for the time it stays live (section 5). All credit purchases are non-refundable except where required by applicable law.

A tracked code points to a Qrop redirect link instead of straight to your destination, so each scan can be counted and you can change the destination after printing. Tracked codes and campaigns (which only group your tracked codes for reporting) are available to accounts that hold purchased credits or an API plan. They are not available to anonymous visitors or to accounts that have neither.

• A tracked code costs 1 credit for every 30 days it stays live, charged when you create it and again each time you renew it. Time already paid for is not refunded if you pause or delete a code.
• Each account may hold a limited number of active tracked codes and have a limited number of scans logged each calendar month, set by your plan (see the pricing page). If you pass the monthly limit your codes keep working and keep sending people to your destination, but new scans are not added to your analytics until the month rolls over.
• If you use webhooks, you choose the address that receives scan details for your codes. You are responsible for that address and for protecting the details once they reach it, and you must have a lawful basis for receiving them. We may switch off an address that keeps failing, and we tell you when we do.
• A code stops redirecting when it expires. An expired code cannot be revived; you create a new one. If your account later has no purchased credits and no plan, your existing codes keep working until they expire, but you cannot create new ones.
• We keep scan analytics for one year from the day the code was created, then delete them, or sooner if you delete the code or your account. Export your data before then; we email reminders as the date approaches.

Scan analytics show approximate location, device and similar information about people who scan your codes, but never their IP address or identity. You are responsible for how you use that information and for any notice you owe the people who scan your codes.

API plans are billed monthly with no minimum term. Cancelling a plan stops future billing immediately; access to the plan’s included credit allocation continues until the end of the current billing period. No partial refunds are issued for the remaining portion of a billing period.

You may upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time from the billing dashboard. An upgrade takes effect as soon as you pay a pro-rated charge for the rest of the current billing period (a minimum of R5.00, the payment gateway’s transaction floor), and the higher amount is charged from your next renewal. A downgrade, or cancelling to no plan, takes effect at the start of the next billing period; your current plan’s allocation and rate limits remain active until then. Your PayFast billing date does not change; only the recurring amount charged on the next cycle is updated. Unused included credits from the current period are carried forward when a new plan takes effect (subject to the cap below).

Unused included credits from a billing period are automatically carried forward to the next period. Carried credits are consumed before the new period’s included allocation. The total carried-credit balance is capped at three times your plan’s monthly included allocation; credits above that cap are forfeited at period rollover. Carried credits have no cash value and cannot be redeemed for a refund.

Your plan’s credits are a hard limit for each billing period and no usage is billed in arrears. Once the combined carried and included credits (and any purchased credits) are used, API requests are refused until you buy an API top-up pack, upgrade your plan, or the plan renews. Top-up credits are prepaid, added to your balance immediately, and do not expire. Enterprise plan pricing is agreed separately on a per-customer basis.

We may change plan pricing with reasonable advance notice. Existing subscribers will be notified before any price change takes effect.

Payments are processed by PayFast (Pty) Ltd, a South African payment service provider. When you initiate a purchase or subscription, you will be redirected to PayFast’s hosted payment page to complete the transaction. Card details are entered directly on PayFast’s page and are never transmitted to or stored by us. All pricing is in South African Rand (ZAR).

Your use of PayFast’s payment page is subject to PayFast’s terms and conditions. For payment disputes, billing queries, or failed transaction support, contact PayFast directly via their support channels.

We send you emails about your account because the service needs them: receipts and invoices, payment problems, credit and scan allowance notices, tracked-code reminders and security messages. You cannot opt out of these while you hold an account.

We send product updates and offers only if you tick the box at registration or switch it on in your account settings. Every such email has an unsubscribe link, and you can switch it off or on again at any time from Account & privacy.

We aim to keep the service available but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. Planned maintenance, infrastructure outages, and third-party dependencies (AWS Cognito, Neon, Vercel, Upstash) may affect availability. We do not offer a formal SLA on free or credit-pack tiers; enterprise SLA terms are agreed separately.

Qrop, the Qrop logo, and the underlying generation engine are owned by ShellRick Tech Pty Ltd. These terms do not grant you any licence to our trademarks or source code. The QR code images you generate are yours; we make no claim over the output.

The service is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that QR codes generated by the service will be scannable in all environments, on all devices, or at all print sizes; final testing before production use is your responsibility.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, ShellRick Tech Pty Ltd and its officers, employees, and contractors shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Our total liability for any claim arising out of these terms or the service shall not exceed the amount you paid to us in the twelve months preceding the claim.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute arising under these terms shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the South African courts.

We may update these terms as the service changes. Material changes will be communicated by email to registered account holders and reflected on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of the service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

Questions about these terms? Contact us at informationofficer@shellricktech.co.za or visit the contact page.