Read a QR code from an image
Free online QR code reader: upload a screenshot or photo and see exactly what the code contains, with a safety check on any link before you open it.
Drop a QR code image or screenshot here
PNG, JPG or WebP up to 4 MB. Or paste a screenshot.
Choose a fileUpload the image, or paste a screenshot straight from your clipboard.
We decode it on the server and label what it is: link, Wi-Fi, contact, payment, text.
Links are checked against Google Safe Browsing before you open them.
Questions
Why can't my phone scan a QR code on its own screen?+
The camera needs to look at the code. When the code is a screenshot on the same phone, this reader does the job: upload the image and it decodes it for you.
What kinds of code can it read?+
Any standard QR code: web links, Wi-Fi credentials, vCard and MeCard contacts, UPI payments, email, phone, SMS, map pins, calendar events and plain text. Other standard barcode formats are read too.
Is it safe to open the link it finds?+
Every web link is checked against Google Safe Browsing and a few local rules before it is shown as safe. You still decide whether to open it, and the address is shown in full.
Do you store the images?+
No. Decoding happens in memory and the file is discarded immediately.
More free tools
Learn the terms
- QR codeA QR code is a two-dimensional matrix barcode that stores data in a square grid of dark and light modules. DENSO WAVE invented it in 1994, and phone cameras and imaging scanners can read it.
- QR code scannerA QR code scanner is software or hardware that captures an image of a QR code and decodes it. Most phones read QR codes with the built-in camera app, so a separate app is rarely needed.
- How QR codes workA QR code works by turning data into codewords, adding Reed–Solomon error correction, and placing the bits in a grid around fixed patterns that help a camera find, straighten and read it.
- Extended Channel Interpretation (ECI)Extended Channel Interpretation (ECI) is an escape code inside a barcode that declares how the following bytes should be read, such as ECI 26 for UTF-8. Many readers ignore it and guess instead.
- Micro QR codeA Micro QR code is a smaller relative of the QR code with a single finder pattern. It comes in four sizes, M1 to M4, from 11×11 to 17×17 modules, and holds up to 35 digits.
- rMQR codeAn rMQR code is a rectangular Micro QR code for long, narrow spaces. It was developed by DENSO WAVE and standardized as ISO/IEC 23941 in 2022, with heights of 7 to 17 modules.
The next step
Make the code the artwork.
These tools make and check classic codes. AriaQR turns your photo, logo or illustration into the code itself, verified on real decoders before you download, with a link you can edit and track.
