Scan QR codes with your webcam or phone camera, or from a screenshot or picture. See where a code leads before you open it.
Codes are read on your device. Nothing you scan is uploaded.
The scanner reads QR codes right in the browser, from your webcam, your phone's camera or a picture, and shows what the code holds before anything is opened.
Press Scan with camera and allow access when the browser asks. Hold the code up to the webcam, about 30 cm away, inside the corner marks. It's read as soon as it's in focus, usually in under a second, and the result appears below the picture. The camera keeps scanning, so you can show it the next code straight away. If you came from the webcam test, the scanner starts with the camera already on.
A QR code doesn't have to be in front of the camera. Press Choose image to pick a photo or a screenshot, drag one onto the scanner, or copy it and press Ctrl+V (⌘V on a Mac) anywhere on the page. A screenshot is the cleanest source there is, because nothing is blurred or at an angle. A photo taken at a slant, in poor light or with the code small in the frame still works more often than not: the picture is read at several sizes, and light codes on a dark background are tried too.
On a phone the scanner starts with the back camera, the one you point at things. If the phone has several, pick another lens from the camera list under the picture. In a dim room, Chrome on Android offers a Flashlight button that turns on the phone's torch. On Android the phone gives a short buzz when a code is read, so you don't have to look away from what you're scanning.
Links, Wi-Fi networks, contacts (vCard and MeCard), email addresses, phone numbers, text messages, map locations and plain text are all recognised and shown with the action that suits them: open a link, copy a Wi-Fi password, save a contact to your address book, start an email or a call. Two-factor setup codes are recognised too, but never saved: their secret belongs in your authenticator app. Anything else is shown as text you can copy, which covers codes from tickets and payments.
A QR code is an address you can't read until it's scanned, which is why fake codes stuck over real ones on parking meters, posters and restaurant tables are a common scam. The scanner never opens anything by itself. It shows where a link goes first, with the domain in large type: check that it's the site you expect, and be wary of a payment or login page reached from a sticker. A link that starts with http rather than https is marked as unencrypted.
Most webcams are fixed-focus and sharpest from about 30 cm, so a code held right up to the lens looks blurred: move it further away until it's sharp, about the size of a palm in the frame. Avoid glare on glossy paper and phone screens by tilting the code a little, and turn up the room light rather than the screen brightness. If the camera still won't read it, take a screenshot or photo and upload it, or test the camera itself in the webcam test to check its focus and resolution.
The code is read by your browser, on your device. The camera picture and the images you upload are never sent anywhere, and neither is what the codes contain. Your recent scans are kept in this browser so you can come back to them, and Clear removes them. Two-factor setup codes are never kept. Analytics only learn what kind of code was scanned, like a link or a Wi-Fi network, never the content.