How to use QR code scanner
- Choose a photo or screenshot that contains a QR code, or select Use camera and point it at the code.
- Read what the code holds: the tool says whether it's a link, Wi-Fi details, a contact or a payment request.
- Copy the contents, or save a contact card as a .vcf file.
Read codes from images, not just the camera
Phone cameras read QR codes in front of them, but not codes inside a screenshot, a PDF, an email attachment or a photo you took earlier. This tool reads codes from any image: drop in a screenshot of a Wi-Fi code someone sent you, a photo of a poster, or an image of a ticket. On a laptop or phone you can also use the camera.
See before you open
A QR code hides where it leads, which makes it a favourite trick for phishing: fake parking-payment stickers, flyers and emails with codes that lead to look-alike login pages. The scanner never opens anything. It shows the contents in full, and for links it states the site's address prominently, flags links that aren't encrypted, and warns about addresses written with look-alike international characters. For payment codes it shows who would be paid. Then you decide.
What it understands
Links, plain text, Wi-Fi network details (shown with the network name, so you can type the password on a device without a camera), contact cards (which you can save as a .vcf file to import into your address book), email, phone and SMS codes, and UPI payment requests.
Private
Images are decoded in your browser and never uploaded. The camera is used only while the camera view is open, frames are read on your device and discarded, and the camera turns off as soon as a code is found.
When a code won't read
Most failures come from the picture rather than the code. Make sure the whole code is visible, including the blank margin around it, and that it fills a good part of the image. Avoid glare from glossy paper or screens, and hold the camera square to the code rather than at a steep angle. Very small codes in a large photo read better if you crop the photo first. Codes printed light-on-dark are supported, though not every phone camera reads them.
Questions
- Why see a link before opening it?
- QR codes are a common way to slip someone a malicious link, for example a sticker over a parking meter's real code. The scanner shows the site a link goes to, and flags unencrypted links and look-alike international addresses, before you decide to open it. It never opens links itself.
- Is the image or camera feed uploaded?
- No. Decoding happens in your browser; the camera picture is read frame by frame on your device and the camera turns off as soon as a code is found.
- Why isn't my code found?
- Make sure the whole code is in the picture, including a little blank space around it, and that it's in focus and not too small. Glare, heavy blur or a code printed on a curved surface can stop it reading.