QR Code Scanner from Image

How to scan a QR code from a screenshot

Take a screenshot of the QR code, then paste or drop it on this page: the code is read in your browser and every link is checked before you open it. You don't need a second phone or an app.

• iPhone: press Side + Volume Up to take the screenshot, then in Photos long-press the code (Live Text) or open this page in Safari, tap the box and pick the screenshot from Photo Library.
• Android: press Power + Volume Down, then open Google Lens from the screenshot, or open this page in Chrome, tap the box and choose the screenshot from Photos.
• Windows: press Win + Shift + S, select the code, then click this page and press Ctrl+V. The snip goes straight from the clipboard into the scanner.
• Mac: press Cmd + Ctrl + Shift + 4 to copy an area to the clipboard, then press Cmd+V on this page. Or drag the screenshot file from the desktop onto the box.

How to scan a QR code on iPhone, Android or a computer

On a phone, open the camera and point it at the code for a second; on a computer, take a screenshot or a photo of the code and add it to a QR code reader like this one.

• iPhone: open Camera, hold the code in view, tap the yellow banner. For a code on your own screen, use a screenshot and this page.
• Android: open the camera or Google Lens and tap the link that appears. Many phones also have a QR tile in Quick Settings.
• Computer: there is no camera pointed at your screen, so screenshot the code (or save the image) and paste it here. A webcam works too: the Camera button takes a photo and reads it.

How to tell if a QR code link is safe

You can't tell from the pattern, so read the link: check the domain (the part right before the first single slash) and be wary of anything that asks you to log in, pay or install an app. QR phishing (quishing) hides a bad link behind a code on a letter, a parking meter, an email or a parcel notice.

This scanner reads the link text and flags these warning signs. It never visits the link, so it can't promise a site is safe; it can only show you what looks wrong.

• http:// instead of https://: the page is not encrypted.
• A number (IP address) instead of a name.
• Look-alike letters from another alphabet in the name (punycode, xn--).
• A brand name in front of, or after, a different domain: paypal.com.example.top, example.top/usps/.
• A brand with a letter swapped or a digit for a letter: paypa1, arnazon.
• A link shortener that hides the final address, which its owner can change.
• Login, verify, account, pay, wallet, password or unlock on a site that isn't a well-known brand.
• A direct download of an app or archive (.apk, .exe, .msi, .dmg, .scr, .zip).
• An @ in the address, more than four subdomains, or an unusual port number.

What each QR code type does

A QR code only holds text; the phone decides what to do with it from how that text starts. This scanner shows each type as a card with the matching actions, and never runs anything on its own.

• Link (https://…): opens a web page. Shown with its domain, the split address and the link check.
• Wi-Fi (WIFI:…): network name, security type and password, with copy buttons and a hidden-network flag.
• Contact (vCard, MeCard): name, phone, email and company, saved as a .vcf file.
• Event (VEVENT): title, time in your time zone and place, added to your calendar as an .ics file.
• Location (geo:): coordinates that open in a maps app.
• Phone, SMS and email (tel:, sms:, mailto:): the number or address with call, text or email.
• Payment and crypto (bitcoin:, upi:…): shown as text with a warning, never as a button, because it asks for money.
• Script (javascript:, data:, file:…): shown as text only. This code holds code, not a link, and we won't open it.

Need to make codes rather than read them? The Bulk QR Code Generator makes hundreds from a list, and Qrdy Dynamic QR makes codes whose link you can change after printing.

Why a QR code won't scan

Most codes that won't scan are blurry, cropped too tight, too small in the picture, or low in contrast. This page retries on its own with inverted colours, more contrast, a bigger copy, small overlapping parts and rotations before it gives up.

• Include the white border around the code (the quiet zone); a code cropped to its edge often fails.
• Hold steady and fill more of the frame; a sharp small code beats a blurry big one.
• Take a screenshot instead of a photo of a screen: photos of screens add stripes (moiré).
• Light-on-dark and coloured codes are read, but very low contrast is not.
• If it still fails, drag a box around the code on the image: the crop is read as soon as you let go.