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Overview

Static QR codes can be screenshotted, forwarded, or posted online — anyone with the image can attempt entry. Secure barcodes solve this by replacing the static code with a dynamically-generated barcode that rotates periodically. Because the code changes, a screenshot taken minutes ago is already invalid. When secure barcodes are active on an event:
  • Customers see a rotating QR code in their account instead of a static barcode
  • PDF ticket downloads are blocked for customers (the code would be static on paper)
  • Apple Wallet passes remain available
  • Scanning is performed via the Access Control Pro app
Secure barcodes apply to tickets and season tickets on events. Shop products and non-event items are not affected.

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Enabling Secure Barcodes

Secure barcodes are controlled by two settings: a company-level feature flag and an event-level scanning mode.

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Feature Flag

Your account must have the Dynamic QR Codes feature enabled. Contact support if you do not see the secure barcode options described below.

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Event Scanning Mode

Once the feature is available on your account, enable secure barcodes per event:
  1. Open the event dashboard
  2. Navigate to the scanning mode setting
  3. Select Secure QR Only
The system begins generating secure seeds for all eligible order items in the background. This runs as a batched job (processing 200 items at a time), so there may be a short delay before all items are ready.
The scanning mode setting is also covered in Access Control — Scanning Mode. Changing the scanning mode only affects how the mobile app reads tickets — admission through the admin panel is not affected.

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What Customers See

When secure barcodes are active, the customer experience changes in two ways: Dynamic QR code — Instead of a static barcode, customers see a rotating QR code in their account. This code regenerates periodically and cannot be meaningfully screenshotted or shared. No PDF download — The PDF download option is removed. If a customer attempts to download, they see the message: “These tickets have secure barcodes”. Apple Wallet downloads remain available.

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Managing Secure Barcodes on Orders

Admins can manage secure barcodes at the individual order item level from the order detail page. Each item with an active secure barcode displays a green Secure Barcode badge.

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Disabling Secure Barcodes on an Item

To convert an individual item back to a static barcode:
  1. Open the order detail page
  2. Find the item with the Secure Barcode badge
  3. Disable the secure barcode
The item reverts to a standard static barcode. The customer will see a confirmation: “Secure barcodes have been disabled.”
Disabling is permanent for that barcode — the static barcode generated is a new code. The confirmation warns: “This will permanently disable the secure barcode for [item]. The barcode will become an unsecure barcode that can be copied or printed.”

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Re-enabling Secure Barcodes on an Item

If an item was previously converted to a static barcode, you can re-enable secure barcodes:
  1. Open the order detail page
  2. Click Enable Secure Barcode on the item
A new secure seed is generated, and the previous static barcode is invalidated. The customer sees: “Secure barcodes have been enabled.”
Re-enabling generates a completely new barcode. Any previously downloaded or printed static barcode for that item will no longer work. The confirmation warns: “This will generate new secure barcodes for the selected tickets. The previous unsecure barcodes will no longer work.”

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Generating New Barcodes and Barcode History

For items that have been converted to static barcodes, you also have access to:
  • Generate New Barcode — creates a fresh static barcode, invalidating the previous one
  • Barcode History — view all previous barcodes generated for the item

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Frozen Orders

Secure barcode controls are locked when an order is frozen. You must unfreeze the order before enabling or disabling secure barcodes on any of its items.

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PDF Downloads for Admins

While customers cannot download PDFs when secure barcodes are active, admins can — but with a warning. When an admin attempts to download a PDF for an order with secure barcodes, a confirmation dialog appears:
“These tickets have secure barcodes. Downloading as PDF will convert them to unsecure barcodes. Unsecure barcodes can be shared with other 3rd parties like resale sites. You can always re-enable secure barcodes, however that will invalidate the downloaded QR code.”
Clicking Yes, download as PDF proceeds with the download and converts the affected items to static barcodes. You can re-enable secure barcodes afterwards, but the downloaded PDF will no longer be valid.

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Disabling the Feature at Company Level

If the Dynamic QR Codes feature is disabled at the company level:
  • All events currently set to Secure QR Only revert to QR Only
  • Future order items have their secure seeds cleared
  • Historical order data is preserved for reporting purposes
This is an account-wide change. If you only want to disable secure barcodes for a specific event, change that event’s scanning mode to QR Only instead.

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Background Processing

Secure seed generation runs automatically in the background:
  • When an event’s scanning mode is set to Secure QR Only, seeds are generated for all eligible order items in batches of 200
  • A scheduled command fills in any missing seeds for future events
  • Items that already have seeds are skipped
If an event has a large number of orders, there may be a brief delay between enabling secure barcodes and all customers seeing the dynamic QR code.
If an event is not configured for secure barcodes but an admin attempts to enable them on an individual item, the system displays: “This event is not configured for secure barcodes.”