QR code scanner: scan online from an image or camera

How to scan a QR code online

NeoReader is a free QR code reader that works in any browser, on phones and computers. It reads codes the same way a phone camera does, but inside your browser:

1. From an image: drop a screenshot or photo on the scanner, choose a file, or paste with ⌘V / Ctrl+V. Several codes in one picture are all found.
2. With your camera: allow camera access and hold the code in view. Video is read in your browser, never recorded, and not sent to us.
3. Check the result: you see what the code holds before anything opens. Links get a safety check first, then you choose whether to open or copy them.

On a web page, the free NeoReader QR browser extension scans every code on the page you're looking at, in one click.

Scan a QR code from an image or screenshot

Your phone camera cannot point at its own screen, so a code in a screenshot or a message needs another route. That is where an online QR code scanner helps. Take a screenshot, then drop or paste it here. The image is decoded on your device and never stored.

This also works for photos in your gallery, codes in a PDF you have screenshotted, and images someone sent you in a chat. If a code is small or blurred, crop the image close to the code and try again. There is more detail on the scan QR code from image page and in our guide to scanning a QR code from a screenshot.

Scan a QR code on a laptop or PC

Computers are harder than phones: few have an obvious built-in QR code reader, and a laptop webcam faces you rather than the code. This page fills the gap in two ways:

• Webcam: choose the camera option, allow access, and hold the code about 15 to 25 cm from the lens.
• Screenshot: if the code is on screen, capture it with your screenshot shortcut and paste it here.

It works the same on Windows, Mac and Chromebook. See QR code scanner for PC, QR code scanner for Mac or the guide on how to scan a QR code on a laptop.

Scan a QR code on your phone

On most phones you can scan a QR code with the camera app: point it at the code and tap the link that appears. On Android, Google Lens does the same job from the camera or the photo gallery. Open this page in your phone's browser when you need something the camera doesn't do, such as reading a code from a screenshot, reading a barcode, or checking a link before you open it.

Step-by-step help: QR code scanner for iPhone, QR scanner for Android, scanning on a Samsung Galaxy and using Google Lens.

QR code reader and barcode scanner in one

The same scanner reads product and shipping barcodes as well as QR codes: EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 128, Code 39, Code 93, ITF, Codabar and DataBar, plus 2D codes such as Data Matrix, Aztec and PDF417. You don't need to choose the type first. For stock checks and product numbers, see the online barcode scanner.

Scan a Wi-Fi QR code

A Wi-Fi QR code holds the network name, security type and password. Scan it here and you see those details in plain text, which is handy on a laptop that cannot join by camera, or when you want to copy the password to another device. To make one for your own network, use the Wi-Fi QR code generator.

If a QR code won't scan

• Crop the image. A small code in a large photo is harder to find. Crop close to the code, leaving a little white space around it.
• Use a sharper picture. Blur and glare break the pattern. Take the photo straight on and in good light.
• Keep the whole code in view. All three corner squares need to be visible.
• Check the colours. Very light codes, or light codes on a dark background, fail on many readers.

If a code you made yourself will not scan, rebuild it in the QR code generator, which test-scans every design as you edit. Our guide to why QR codes stop working covers codes that used to work and no longer do.

Scan every QR code on a web page

The free NeoReader QR browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox finds every QR code and barcode on the page you are viewing, including codes in images, canvases and videos. You can also drag to select one area of the screen. Links get the same safety check as on this page. See the QR code Chrome extension page.

Safe scanning

QR codes are a popular way to hide phishing links (“quishing”). Before you open anything, NeoReader checks the link for look-alike brand sites, hidden destinations, disguised characters, link shorteners, bare IP addresses and app downloads, and warns you in plain words. Codes on parking meters, parcels and unexpected letters deserve extra care. Our guide to QR code phishing shows the common tricks.

Free, private and no app to install

The scanner is free with no sign-up and no limit. It is private by default: images and camera video are read in your browser, and we don't receive or store them.

Looking for the NeoReader app?

The original NeoReader phone app has been retired. This page does the same job in any browser, on phones and computers, with nothing to install. Bookmark it, or add the extension to scan codes you see on screen.