> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.scanova.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bot scans

> What bot scans are, why automated crawlers and preview tools register as scans, and how the Exclude Bot Traffic filter keeps them out of your analytics.

Bot scans are QR Code scans triggered by automated software, not real people. Scanova detects these using device type identification and flags them separately as **BOT** traffic in scan data.

## What are bot scans

When a QR Code's URL is crawled, previewed, or tested by automated tools, it registers as a scan in analytics. Common sources include:

* **Search engine crawlers** indexing the destination URL (for example Googlebot, Bingbot)
* **Security scanners** checking URLs for malware or phishing
* **Link preview tools** generating previews when a URL is shared on messaging or social platforms
* **Uptime monitors** periodically pinging URLs to check availability
* **QR Code testing tools** used during campaign setup and quality assurance

Some common examples seen in scan data: **Googlebot**, **AhrefsBot**, **Semrushbot** (SEO crawlers); **Twitterbot**, **Slackbot** (link preview generators); **Pingdom**, **UptimeRobot** (monitoring tools).

## Impact on scan data

Bot scans inflate the Total Scans count, making it harder to measure real user engagement accurately. For QR Codes deployed on high-traffic pages or shared widely online, bot scans can make up a significant portion of scan data.

## Excluding bot traffic

Scanova provides an **Exclude Bot Traffic** filter on the [Analytics](/analytics/dashboard) page and in [report](/analytics/reports)/[email report](/analytics/email-reports) requests. When enabled, all metrics — including scan breakdowns by date, location, device, and OS — reflect human scans only, giving a cleaner view of actual campaign performance.

## Related

* [Analytics dashboard](/analytics/dashboard) — where the Exclude Bot Traffic checkbox lives day to day
* [Reports](/analytics/reports) and [Email reports](/analytics/email-reports) — the same filter, available when requesting a scheduled or one-off report