How to Scan a QR Code From a Screenshot or Image

To scan a QR code from a screenshot or picture, open ToolMany's QR Code Scanner and paste the screenshot with Ctrl+V, drop the image on the box, or choose the file. The decoded text appears straight away, with links, Wi-Fi logins and contact details explained before you open anything. To scan a printed code instead, press Scan with camera.

QR codes were designed to be pointed at with a phone, which is awkward when the code is already on your phone or computer screen. This guide covers that case, plus how to check a code safely and what to do when it will not scan.

When you need to scan from an image

• Someone sends you a QR code in a chat or email, and the only camera you have is on the same phone.
• A website shows a code to link an app or set up two-step verification, and you are on a laptop without a webcam.
• You saved a photo of a poster and want the link later.
• You made a code with the QR Code Generator and want to confirm it works before printing hundreds of copies.

Step by step

1. Open the QR Code Scanner.
2. Take a screenshot of the code, or save the picture that contains it.
3. Paste it with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac), drop it on the box, or press Choose a file.
4. Read the result. The full decoded text is shown, plus a plain-language breakdown for known types.
5. Press Copy text, or Open if it is a link you trust.

On a phone, take the screenshot, then choose it from your photo library in the file picker.

Scanning with the camera

Press Scan with camera and allow camera access when the browser asks. Hold the code inside the frame, straight on, so it fills about half of the box. The scanner stops the camera as soon as it reads a code.

If the camera does not start, the browser may be blocking it for the site. Look for a camera icon in the address bar to allow it, or fall back to taking a photo and choosing it as an image.

What the scanner can tell you

A QR code is just text with a few conventions. The scanner recognises the common ones:

Wi-Fi codes are especially handy on a laptop: read the network name and password from the result and type them into your network settings.

Checking a link before you open it

QR codes hide where they lead, and that has made them popular with scammers. Fake codes are stuck over real ones on parking meters, restaurant tables and posters, sending people to look-alike payment or login pages. This is sometimes called quishing.

The scanner never opens a link automatically. Before pressing Open, check:

• The domain. Look at the part just before the first single slash. pay.example-parking.com.secure-login.net belongs to secure-login.net, not to the parking company.
• The spelling. Look-alike domains swap letters, such as rn for m, or add words like "secure" or "verify".
• The context. A parking meter that suddenly wants a card number on an unfamiliar site deserves suspicion. Use the operator's official app instead.

When a code won't scan

Most failures come from the picture rather than the code:

• Too much else in the picture. Crop it down to the code with Crop Image and try again.
• Blurred or tilted. Take a new photo straight on, in good light, holding the phone steady.
• Too small. Zoom in before taking the screenshot so the code covers a good part of the screen.
• Damaged or decorated. Heavily stylised codes, codes with large logos and codes with scratches can be unreadable. Try a cleaner copy.
• Light code on a dark background. The scanner tries inverted codes automatically, but low contrast still causes trouble.

If the image also contains ordinary printed text you need, such as a reference number next to the code, copy it out with Image to Text.

Privacy

The scanner reads images and camera frames in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and camera frames are discarded as soon as they are checked. There is no history of scanned codes either, so once you close the tab the decoded text is gone unless you copied it somewhere yourself. That is worth knowing when the code holds something private, such as a Wi-Fi password or a two-step verification setup key.