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QRCodePrime

Scan a QR code online.
No app needed.

Use your camera, upload a picture or paste a screenshot. The code is read on your own device, so nothing you scan is ever sent to us.

Your picture is read on your device and never uploaded.

Three ways to scan, all inside your browser

With your camera

Works on a phone, a tablet or a laptop with a webcam. Press Use camera, allow access when your browser asks, and hold the code inside the square.

From a picture

Have the code as a photo or a saved screenshot? Press Upload image and pick the file, or drag it onto the box. PNG, JPG, WebP and GIF all work.

From your clipboard

On a computer, take a screenshot of the code and press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac) anywhere on this page. No file to save, nothing to tidy up later.

How to scan a QR code that is on your own screen

A camera cannot point at its own screen. That is the most common reason people look for an online scanner: the code sits in an email, a PDF, a website or a chat, on the same device they are holding. A screenshot solves it, and the steps are short on every device.

Windows

Press Windows + Shift + S and drag a box around the code. Windows copies the snip to your clipboard. Click this page and press Ctrl + V.

Mac

Press Command + Control + Shift + 4 and drag a box around the code. Holding Control sends the screenshot to your clipboard instead of your desktop. Come back to this page and press Command + V.

Chromebook

Press Ctrl + Shift + Show windows (the key with a rectangle and two lines) and drag around the code. The screenshot is copied for you. Press Ctrl + V on this page.

iPhone and iPad

Press the side button and volume up together, or the Home button and the top button on older models. Then tap Upload image above, choose Photo Library and pick the screenshot. On recent iPhones you can also open the picture in Photos and press and hold on the code.

Android

Press power and volume down together. Then tap Upload image above and pick the screenshot. If you use Google Photos, opening the picture and tapping Lens does the same job.

Making a code rather than reading one? Here is how to make a QR code on your phone.

What the scanner shows you

Most scanners hand you a line of raw text and leave you to work it out. This one reads the code the way your phone would, then lays it out in plain words.

  • Links. The site name first, in bold, then the full address. Nothing opens until you say so.
  • WiFi codes. Network name, password and security type, with a button to copy the password. Handy when a laptop needs the password from a WiFi QR code that was made for phones.
  • Contact cards. Name, phone, email, company and address from a vCard QR code, with a button to save the contact as a file.
  • Email, text message and phone codes. Who it goes to and what it says. Nothing is sent by scanning. You get a draft and you decide.
  • Locations. The coordinates from a location QR code, and a button to open the map.
  • Calendar events and plain text. Shown exactly as written, ready to copy.

Check the link before you open it

A QR code is a link you cannot read with your eyes, and scammers know it. The Federal Trade Commission warned in December 2023 that scammers hide harmful links in QR codes, covering the real code on a parking meter with one of their own, or sending a code by text or email with an urgent story attached. The FBI published a similar warning in January 2022 about tampered codes that lead to sites built to steal logins and payment details.

That is why this scanner never opens anything by itself. It shows you the full address first and points out the patterns worth a second look:

  • A link shortener or redirect, which hides where you will really land.
  • An address that starts with http instead of https.
  • A row of numbers where a site name should be.
  • Extra text before an @ sign, or odd characters made to imitate a brand you know.

Three habits cover most of the risk. Read the site name from right to left, because the real site is the part just before the .com or .org. Be suspicious of any code that arrives with a deadline. And when a code asks for a payment or a password, skip it and go to the company's website yourself.

Checking one specific code you are unsure about? The QR code safety check walks through the warning signs one by one.

When a code will not scan

The picture is small or blurry.
Each little square in the code has to be visible. Zoom in before you take the screenshot, or photograph the code from closer.
There is no white border.
Every QR code needs a quiet margin around it. If you cropped right up to the edge, crop again and leave some space. The scanner adds a margin and retries for you, but a wider crop is the sure fix.
Glare, shadows or a curved surface.
Tilt the page or move the light. For a code on a bottle or a cup, shoot it straight on so the squares stay square.
A light code on a dark background.
Inverted codes fail in plenty of scanners. This one tries an inverted copy of your picture before it gives up.
A very dense code.
Codes that hold a lot of text have tiny squares, so they need a large, sharp picture. A screenshot beats a photo of a screen every time.
The code is damaged.
QR codes survive some scratches and even a logo in the middle. A missing corner square usually ends it, because those three big squares are how a scanner finds the code.
The camera button does nothing.
Your browser has the camera switched off for this site. Allow it from the site settings next to the address bar, or use a picture instead.

If a code scans fine but the link behind it is dead, the code is not the problem. The page it points to is gone, and a printed static code cannot be changed. That is the case for a dynamic QR code, which lets you change the destination after printing. Every free QRCodePrime account includes 10 dynamic QR codes, free for life, with no credit card, no ads on the redirect and no watermarks.

Private by design

Your camera feed and your pictures are decoded by code running in your own browser. They are not uploaded, saved or seen by us, and you do not need an account. We count that a scan happened, which button was used and what type of code it was, such as a link or a WiFi code. We never record what a code said. The details are in our privacy policy.

Questions people ask about scanning online

Can I scan a QR code without downloading an app?+
Yes. This page is the scanner. It runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, so there is nothing to install. Most phone cameras also read QR codes on their own. An online scanner earns its place when the code is on your own screen, or when you are on a computer.
How do I scan a QR code that is on my phone screen?+
Take a screenshot of the code, then tap Upload image on this page and choose the screenshot from your photos. The scanner reads the picture on your phone and shows what the code contains. It works for codes in emails, PDFs, social posts and chats.
Can I scan a QR code on a laptop or PC that has no camera?+
Yes. Take a screenshot of the code and paste it here with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. You can also upload a saved image or drag one onto the scanner. No webcam is needed for any of that.
Is my picture uploaded to your servers?+
No. The decoding happens inside your browser, on your device. Your camera feed and your images are never sent to us or stored, and there is no account to create. We count that a scan happened and what type of code it was, never what the code said.
What kinds of QR codes can it read?+
Any standard QR code: website links, WiFi logins, contact cards (vCard and MeCard), plain text, email and text message drafts, phone numbers, map locations and calendar events. Instead of raw text you get the details laid out in plain words, with buttons to copy a password or save a contact.
Is it safe to open a link from a QR code?+
Treat it like any link from a stranger. This scanner never opens a link by itself. It shows the full address first and flags things like link shorteners, http addresses and look-alike names. If a code pushes you to pay or log in urgently, go to the company's website yourself instead.
Why does my QR code not scan?+
The usual causes are a small or blurry picture, a crop with no white margin around the code, glare, or a light code on a dark background. Zoom in, retake the screenshot with space around the code and try again. The scanner also retries your picture at several sizes and in inverted colors before giving up.
Can it read the barcodes on products?+
No. It is built for QR codes only. The striped barcodes on packaging use different formats and are not supported here.
Does the scanner cost anything?+
No. It is free with no account, no limits and no ads. Making codes is free too: static QR codes are unlimited with no account, and a free account adds 10 dynamic QR codes, free for life, with no credit card, no ads on the redirect and no watermarks.

Scanned one. Ready to make one?

Static QR codes are free and unlimited with no account. A free account adds 10 dynamic QR codes, free for life, with scan analytics, no credit card, no ads on the redirect and no watermarks.

Make a QR code, free

Popular: link, WiFi, contact card, plain text and Google reviews.