Free QR Code Scanner OnlineDrop a picture, paste a screenshot or use your camera. I show what is inside the code before anything opens. Nothing is uploaded.

Read a QR code without installing an app

This page reads a QR code from a picture, a screenshot or your camera, and shows what is inside it before anything opens. It works on a phone, a laptop and a desktop PC, with no app and no sign-up.

The picture or camera image is read inside your browser. It is not uploaded, and the results are not saved anywhere: close the page and they are gone.

How to scan a QR code here

1. 1

   Add a picture or start the camera

   Drop a picture on the page, choose files, paste a screenshot with Ctrl+V (⌘V on a Mac), or press Use camera and hold the code in front of it.

2. 2

   Look at what the code holds

   A link shows the full address with the site name in bold. WiFi, contacts, email, phone numbers and text show in plain words, with the exact text under them.

3. 3

   Open it only if you trust it

   Nothing opens by itself. Press Open link when you have checked the address, or Copy to use the text somewhere else.

Scan a QR code on an iPhone or Android phone

You do not need a separate app. On an iPhone, open the Camera app and point it at the code; a banner appears at the top of the screen, and tapping it opens what the code holds. On most Android phones the Camera app does the same.

If your Android camera does not react to codes, Google Lens (inside the Google app) can read them. If the code is already on your phone as a screenshot or a saved picture, add that picture to this page.

Scan a QR code on a laptop or PC

A computer has no camera that points at paper, but there are two easy ways. If the code is on your screen, take a screenshot of it and paste it here with Ctrl+V (⌘V on a Mac). If it is on paper, press Use camera and hold the paper in front of the webcam, or photograph it with your phone and send the picture to your computer.

Useful screenshot shortcuts: on Windows, Windows key + Shift + S copies a part of the screen to the clipboard. On a Mac, Shift + Command + 4 with the Control key held down copies a part of the screen to the clipboard instead of saving a file.

Why a QR code will not scan

If I cannot find a code in your picture, the cause is usually one of these:

• The picture is blurry or the code is out of focus. Hold still and tap the screen to focus.
• The code is too small in the picture. Crop the picture so the code fills most of it.
• Glare, a shadow or a crease runs across the code.
• Part of the code is cut off, or the blank border around it is missing. All three big corner squares must show.
• The colours are too close together, such as light grey on white.
• The colours are swapped (a light code on a dark background). This page tries both ways, but some phone cameras only read dark on light.
• It is not a QR code. Ordinary barcodes are read only in browsers that support it, and other kinds of square code are not read here.
• The code is damaged, stretched or printed on a curved surface.

Use it as a QR code checker

Before you print a code you made, add a picture of it here. If this page reads it and shows the text you expected, the code is built correctly. Then print one test copy at the size you plan to use and scan that with a phone as well: size, paper and contrast matter as much as the code.

The result shows the size of the code as a version number and a count of squares. A bigger version holds more, and its squares are smaller for the same printed width.

Is it safe to open a QR code link?

Reading a code only shows text. What you do with the text is what matters. A few habits help:

• Read the address before you open it. The name of the site is the part in bold on this page.
• Be careful with codes stuck on parking meters, posters or tables. A sticker can be placed over the real code.
• Be careful when a code asks you to sign in, pay or enter a code you received. If you are unsure, go to the company’s website or app yourself instead.
• Shortened links hide where they lead. If the address is a short link you do not know, think twice.
• Joining a WiFi network from a code gives that network access to the traffic you send over it. Join only networks you trust.
• This page cannot tell you whether a site is safe. It shows you the address so you can decide.

What happens to my pictures

Nothing leaves your device. The picture is drawn on a hidden canvas in your browser and read there. Results are kept only on the page, so a reload clears them. If you press Use camera, the video stays in the browser tab, and the camera stops when you press Stop, when a code is read or when you switch to another tab.