Short Links & QR Codes - Ours Privacy

Create branded short links and downloadable QR codes in the Marketing Center. Every scan and click is recorded as a first-party, consent-aware event you can query in Analytics, use in Audiences, and route to destinations.

Short Links let you turn any destination URL into a compact link and a downloadable QR code, attach campaign tags to it, and see who opened it. They live in the Marketing Center and take no code to set up.

The difference from a standalone link shortener is where the data lands. A scan or click on an Ours Privacy short link is recorded as a first-party event in your own account, using the link's name as the event name. It shows up on the visitor timeline, in Web Analytics, as a condition in Audiences, and as something you can map to any connected destination. Nothing is stranded in a separate link tool.

Open Short Links in app

Important: A new short link does not resolve until you publish a version. Save the link, then publish. Until then the destination is stored but the short URL will not forward anyone. See Publishing a short link.

Why use Ours Privacy short links

The click is an event, not a vendor metric. Every scan or click is written into the same pipeline as the rest of your data, so it is queryable, segmentable, and routable rather than locked inside a reporting dashboard you cannot join to anything.
Print and offline channels get first-party measurement. A QR code on a postcard, a poster, a badge, or an exam-room handout becomes a tracked entry point that ties into the same visitor record as the rest of the site.
The QR code survives a change of destination. The code encodes the short URL, not the destination, so you can repoint a printed code at a new page without reprinting anything.
A real QR design surface, not just a black square. Six themes, module and corner shapes, gradients, a centered logo, three frame shapes, and a transparent-background option, exported at print resolution as PNG or SVG. See QR codes.
It runs on your own domain. If you have connected a branded domain, links can be served from it, so the short URL reads as your brand. See Branded domains.
No extra vendor. Short links are part of the platform you already have under contract, covered by the same access controls, audit logging, and HIPAA posture as everything else.

How it fits together

Create a link in the Marketing Center. A short link starts empty, and you fill in the details on the editor.
Name it. The name is sent as the event name on every scan and click, so pick something you will recognize in Analytics.
Set the destination URL. This is where visitors land.
Add campaign and UTM tags if you want to group links under a campaign in reporting.
Design the QR code and download it as PNG or SVG.
Save, then publish a version. Publishing is what makes the short URL and its QR code resolve.
Watch the Analytics tab for clicks, unique clicks, a daily time series, and country, city, and device breakdowns.

Key pages

Short link concepts: what a short link is made of, what the short URL looks like, and why publishing matters.
Creating a short link: the walkthrough from an empty link to a live one, including the readiness states in the editor.
QR codes: themes, colors, gradients, module and corner shapes, logos, frames, the contrast check, and exporting.
Campaigns and UTM tags: the five campaign fields, what they do, and the one thing they deliberately do not do.
Branded domains: serving short links from a domain you own.
Managing short links: the list page, searching, duplicating, disabling, and deleting.
Short link click events: the event name, the properties captured, visitor identity, consent, and bot handling.
Short link reporting: the Analytics tab, every metric it shows, date-range limits, and the permission it needs.
Automating short links: creating and reading links through the Platform API and the MCP tools.
Comparing link tools: how this differs from a standalone shortener, and an honest list of what it does not do yet.
Recipes: worked configurations for print campaigns, email, events, and offline attribution.
Short link FAQs: naming, scan counting, reprinting, limits, and access questions.

Works with the rest of the platform

Web Analytics: the click event appears alongside your other events, so you can trend it, break it down, and put it in a funnel.
Audiences: use the link's event name as an event condition to build an audience of everyone who scanned a given code.
Attribution: because the click is on the visitor timeline, a scan can be the first touch in a conversion journey.
Destinations: map the click event to a CRM, an ad platform, or your warehouse like any other event.
Redirect Tracking: the same underlying source type, exposed as a raw URL builder for cases the Short Links editor does not cover.
Platform API: create, update, list, and report on short links programmatically.

Availability

Short Links are available to all accounts with no feature flag or beta gating. There is no cap on how many short links you can create, though the dashboard list shows the 100 most recent.

Access is governed by the standard source permissions plus one reporting permission. Creating and editing links uses the same permissions as sources, and the Analytics tab requires View Short Link Reporting, which is granted separately because click analytics can carry protected health information. If a control is disabled for you, ask your account administrator. See Managing short links for the full list.

Need help?

Reach out to support@oursprivacy.com with any questions about short links or QR codes.