Frozen code
A code over its plan limit that still redirects but cannot be edited.
Frozen is the state a dynamic code enters when an account holds more codes than its plan allows — after a downgrade, a cancellation, or a failed payment.
A frozen code:
- still redirects to its destination, with no time limit;
- still records every scan;
- cannot have its destination edited until a slot is freed or the plan is upgraded.
Why the distinction matters. The alternative, used widely across the industry, is to disable codes outright — which breaks printed material that someone has already paid to produce. Freezing locks the administrative capability while leaving the physical artifact working, which is the part the customer cannot change.
A sensible implementation freezes the newest codes first, since the oldest are the most likely to already be in circulation.
In practice
A florist on a 25-code plan drops to the free plan, which allows three. Their 22 newest codes freeze. Every one of those 22 keeps redirecting and keeps counting scans — the window decal, the delivery cards, the wedding brochure all carry on working exactly as before. What they cannot do is change where those 22 point until they free a slot.
The oldest three stay fully editable, deliberately: the oldest codes are the most likely to be on something already printed and distributed, so those are the ones that most need to stay under the owner's control.
Questions
How long can a code stay frozen?
Indefinitely. There is no timer and no expiry. A frozen code on an account nobody ever returns to carries on redirecting.
Do frozen codes still count scans?
Yes. Recording never stops. If you upgrade a year later, the history for that period is already there.