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QR Code Scanner
Scan with your camera, or drop, paste or pick an image, and see exactly what the QR code contains before you act on it.
Drop a screenshot or photo here, paste it with Ctrl/⌘+V, or
Decoding happens on this device — the camera feed and images are never uploaded.
Works in your browser. No account needed.
Frequently asked questions
How do I scan a QR code that is in a screenshot or on my own screen?
Use the image box instead of the camera. Take a screenshot, then paste it straight into the page with Ctrl+V (⌘+V on a Mac), drop the file onto the box, or tap Choose image. The scanner tries the image at several sizes and adds a white margin around it, so tightly cropped codes and large phone photos usually read on the first try.
Does the scanner open links automatically?
No. A scanned link is only displayed. You see the destination domain in large type, a warning if the link uses plain http, a link shortener, a raw IP address, a punycode (look-alike) domain or a hidden “@” trick, and you have to press Open link in new tab yourself. Links that start with javascript: or data: are shown as text and cannot be opened from the page.
Can it connect me to a Wi-Fi network from the QR code?
It can read the code and show the network name, security type and password, with a button to copy the password. Web pages are not allowed to join Wi-Fi networks, so you then choose the network in your device’s Wi-Fi settings and paste the password. If you are on a phone, its built-in camera app can usually join the network directly from the same code.
Why does the camera not start or not find the code?
If the browser blocked the camera, allow it from the lock or camera icon in the address bar and try again; the image option works without any camera permission. If the code is not detected, move a little farther back so the whole code including its white border is in view, avoid glare on glossy surfaces, and turn on the flashlight if the button is shown. Very dense codes on small prints may need the camera held steady for a second or two.
Which kinds of QR code content does it recognise?
Web links (including bare “www.” addresses), Wi-Fi network codes, vCard and MECARD contact cards, email codes (mailto: and MATMSG), phone numbers (tel:), text messages (SMSTO: and sms:) and map locations (geo:). Anything else is shown as plain text that you can copy. Recognised types also have a Raw content section showing exactly what the code contains.
About this tool
This QR code scanner reads codes from two sources: your device’s camera and images you already have. The camera mode asks for the rear-facing camera on phones, decodes several frames per second, outlines the code in green when it locks on and then pauses so the result does not keep changing under your thumb. If your device has more than one camera, a dropdown lets you switch, and on phones whose browser exposes the camera torch a flashlight button appears for scanning in poor light.
Image scanning covers the cases a camera cannot: a QR code in a screenshot, an emailed ticket, a PDF you have captured, or a photo taken earlier. You can drop a file, paste an image directly from the clipboard or choose one from your device. Large photos are scanned at several resolutions and inverted (light-on-dark) codes are tried as well, which is often the difference between a code that reads and one that does not.
The part that matters most is what happens after decoding. QR codes are a common way to deliver phishing links — a sticker over a parking meter code, a fake “scan to pay” notice — so this tool never opens anything by itself. A link’s destination domain is shown in large type with plain-language warnings for signs worth a second look, such as link shorteners that hide the destination, raw IP addresses, look-alike punycode domains and the user@host trick that makes a URL appear to point somewhere it does not.
Structured codes are laid out as readable fields instead of raw text: Wi-Fi codes show the network name, security type and password with a copy button; vCard and MECARD contacts show name, phone, email, organisation and address and can be saved as a .vcf file for your address book; email, phone, SMS and location codes get a matching button to compose, call, text or show the spot on OpenStreetMap. Your scans from the current browser tab are kept in a short history list and are cleared when you close the tab. Decoding runs on your device with the jsQR library; the camera feed and images are not uploaded.
Updated · Novpix LLC
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