QR code scanner
This QR code scanner reads any QR code from a live camera or an uploaded image, decoded entirely in your browser. Scan QR code online without installing anything - it reads product barcodes too, and nothing you scan is sent to a server.
Want to create one? Create a QR code
Scanner
the camera feed never leaves your device
Result
WaitingReads any of these
- Link
- WiFi
- Contact card
- Text
- Phone
- Location
- Event
How this QR code scanner reads a code
Point the camera or drop in a screenshot and this online QR scanner reads it the same way your phone's own camera does - no app, no account, nothing uploaded anywhere. Below: what happens when it reads a code, which content types it turns into a link, contact or WiFi join, why a code sometimes refuses to scan, and how to open one safely.
Camera or upload - either way, it never leaves your device
Camera mode reads whatever the lens sees, frame by frame - hold a code steady and it's read in well under a second, on pretty much any phone or laptop browser. Upload mode does the same job for a code that's already in a photo, screenshot or PDF - drop the file in and it decodes in place.
Both run in your browser: the camera feed and any file you upload stay on your device and are never sent to a server. The camera also isn't picky about QR specifically, so a product barcode in front of it gets read too.
- 1. Point or drop A live camera frame or an uploaded photo, screenshot or PDF page
- 2. Decoded here Read in your browser in well under a second, nothing uploaded
- 3. Result shown A link to open, WiFi to join, a contact to save, or the raw text to copy
What a QR code reader like this one recognises
A QR code is just a block of text; what makes a scanner useful is turning common shapes of that text into something you can act on instead of a wall of characters. This one recognises the shapes below and gives you the matching action; anything else - plain notes, map coordinates, calendar invites - still decodes correctly and shows as text you can copy.
- Link
- Shown with an Open button, so you can read the address before you tap it.
- WiFi network
- Shows the network name and password in plain text, ready to type in by hand if your phone's own camera would rather join it directly.
- Contact card
- A name, phone number and other fields laid out for saving.
- The address, with a Send email button that opens your mail app.
- Phone number
- The number, with a Call button.
- Text message
- The number and pre-filled message, with a Send message button.
Why a QR code won't scan
| Problem | Try this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Blurry or out of focus | Hold the phone still and move back a little so the camera can focus. | Most phone cameras focus poorly closer than about 10 cm. |
| Glare or reflection | Tilt the surface, or switch to Upload with a photo taken at an angle. | A bright reflection can hide the finder squares the decoder looks for first. |
| Too small in the frame | Print it larger, or move closer until it fills more of the viewfinder. | Below a few millimetres per square the camera sensor can't resolve the pattern. |
| Inverted colours | Use a standard dark code on a light background where possible. | Most decoders are tuned for dark modules on a light background; some scanners can't read the reverse at all. |
| Damaged, dirty or partly covered | A logo or light smudge is usually fine; a torn corner often isn't. | QR codes carry spare data for exactly this, up to a limit set by their error-correction level. |
This site's own generator builds your code at level Q by default, and switches to H automatically the moment you add a logo, so the logo sits inside data the code can afford to lose.
Check before you tap - QR code safety
A QR code can point anywhere, so scanning one is really just a faster way to type a web address - the same judgement applies. The scam version of this even has a name, quishing: a fake code stuck over a real one, at a parking meter or on a delivery note, sending you to a look-alike site that asks for a card number or a password. This scanner shows you the full link before you tap Open, which is the one habit that stops it.
bloomcafe-account-verify.example/login
bloomcafe.example/menu
The real business's own domain is short and matches what's printed around the code; a scam link is usually longer, urgent-sounding, or on a domain you've never heard of.
Sources
Checked September 2026
- Apple Support: Scan a QR code with your iPhone or iPadsupport.apple.comthe Camera app and Control Center scanning steps
- Google: Scan QR codes with your Pixel phonesupport.google.comthe Android camera scanning steps
- ISO/IEC 18004:2024 - QR code bar code symbology specificationcdn.standards.iteh.aithe four error-correction levels and their recovery percentages
Phone makers change their camera apps; if a prompt looks different on your phone, their help page has the current steps.
QR code scanner questions
Open the Camera app from the Home Screen, Lock Screen or Control Center, point it at the code and tap the link that appears - no other app is needed.
Open the Camera app and point it at the code; most phones running Android 9 or later recognise it automatically and show a link to tap. Some also add a QR scanner tile to Quick Settings.
No. The camera frame and any file you upload are decoded in your browser and never sent to a server.
Yes - the camera has no format filter, so a product barcode in front of it decodes the same way a QR code would.
Only a handful of common shapes - links, WiFi, contact cards, email, phone and text messages - get a matching action. Anything else, like map coordinates or a calendar invite, still decodes correctly and is shown as plain text you can copy.
Reading it is safe; the code either decodes correctly or it doesn't, depending on how much damage its error-correction level can absorb. What matters for safety is where the code points, not its condition.
Need a QR code of your own?
Make your own QR code for a link, WiFi, contact card and more - styled, free, and ready to download.