QR code scanner online

Phones can scan QR codes with the camera, but what about a code that is on your own screen, in an email, a PDF or a website? Take a screenshot and paste it here with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac), or drop the image file. JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF and iPhone HEIC photos all work.

The scanner tries the image at several sizes and also checks for inverted (light-on-dark) codes, so photos taken at an angle or from a distance often work. If nothing is found, crop the image to the area around the code and try again.

The image is processed in your browser and is not uploaded anywhere.

Choose With camera and allow camera access when the browser asks. On a phone, the rear camera is used. Hold the code inside the frame; as soon as it is recognized, the phone vibrates (where supported) and the camera stops.

If the browser says permission was denied, click the camera icon in the address bar to allow it, or use an image instead. The video feed stays on your device; nothing is recorded or sent.

You always see the full raw content first, so nothing happens until you decide.

• Too small or too far: zoom in on the image or move the camera closer until the code fills a good part of the frame.
• Blurry photo: tap to focus, hold still, and make sure there is enough light. Glare on glossy paper or a screen can hide modules; tilt slightly to avoid reflections.
• Damaged or partly covered: codes with a higher error correction level survive more damage, but if a corner finder pattern (the big squares) is missing, the code usually cannot be read.
• Very dense codes with long content need a sharper image. A screenshot at full resolution works better than a photo of a screen.
• Inverted colors (light code on a dark background) are supported for images; for the camera, a normal dark-on-light code works best.

Fake QR codes, stuck over real ones on parking meters, posters and restaurant tables or sent by email, are a common way to lead people to phishing pages (sometimes called "quishing"). The scanner warns you when a link:

• uses an IP address instead of a domain name,
• contains non-Latin characters (punycode) that can imitate a familiar domain,
• has a username before the domain, a trick to make a link look like it goes somewhere else,
• is a shortened link (bit.ly, tinyurl and similar), which hides the real destination,
• uses unencrypted http://.

Even without a warning, look at the domain before you open a link, and never enter passwords or card details on a page you reached through a QR code you are unsure about. When in doubt, type the official website address yourself.

Use the QR code generator for links, text, Wi-Fi, email and phone numbers. To read standard product barcodes such as UPC or EAN instead, use the barcode scanner.