Scan QR codes and barcodes with your camera or from a screenshot — no app needed
Updated October 2026
The QR & Barcode Scanner reads QR codes and barcodes three ways: live through your phone or laptop camera, from a photo you upload, or from a screenshot you paste with Ctrl+V. It needs no app, works on desktop browsers as well as phones, and reads QR codes, Data Matrix, Aztec, PDF417 and every common 1D barcode including EAN-13, UPC and Code 128. Instead of dumping raw text, it explains what it found: a link (with the full website address shown before anything opens), a UPI payment request (payee name, UPI ID, amount and note), a Wi-Fi network (name and password, one tap to copy), a contact card, an email, phone number, SMS or map location, or a product barcode number. Your recent scans are kept on your device so you can find them again.
Camera frames are captured about five times a second, scaled to at most 960 pixels wide and decoded in the browser. Where the browser provides the standard BarcodeDetector API (Chrome on Android and macOS) it is used first because it is hardware-accelerated; otherwise — and whenever it finds nothing — the open-source ZXing decoder runs with its "try harder" mode. Uploaded images are tried at several sizes, because a small code inside a very large photo is often easier to find after scaling down. The decoded text is then classified by its standard prefix: upi://pay for UPI, WIFI: for Wi-Fi (per the common MECARD-style format, including escaped characters), BEGIN:VCARD for contacts, mailto:, tel:, sms: and geo: for the others, and 8–14 digits for retail product numbers.
| Starts with | What it is | What the scanner shows |
|---|---|---|
| https:// | Website link | Site name and full address, then Open |
| upi://pay | UPI payment request | Payee name, UPI ID, amount, note |
| WIFI: | Wi-Fi network | Network name, password, security type |
| BEGIN:VCARD | Contact card | Name, phone, email, company |
| mailto: / tel: / sms: | Email, call or text | The address or number, then Open |
| geo: | Map location | Coordinates, open in Maps |
| 8–14 digits | Product barcode (EAN/UPC) | The number, with a web search link |
Laptop webcams are low-resolution and fixed-focus, so holding a phone screen up to them often fails. The faster way is a screenshot: on Windows press Win+Shift+S and select the QR code, on a Mac press Cmd+Shift+4; then click on this page and press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V). The code is read straight from the clipboard image, without saving a file and without uploading anything.
Scam QR codes usually lead to look-alike websites or ask you to "scan to receive money". Two rules protect you: read the full website address before opening any link, and remember that receiving money through UPI never requires scanning a code or entering your PIN — a PIN is only ever needed to send money.
For UPI codes, the scanner shows the payee name exactly as encoded in the code. When you then pay through your own UPI app, check that the name your bank displays matches the shop you are paying.
Open the QR & Barcode Scanner and press Start camera to use your webcam, or — easier — take a screenshot of the QR code (Windows: Win+Shift+S, Mac: Cmd+Shift+4), then press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V) on this page. The code is read from the screenshot instantly without uploading it anywhere.
Press Upload image and choose the picture, drag it onto the scanner, or paste it. The scanner tries the full image and smaller copies, so even a small QR code in a large photo is usually found.
Scanning itself is safe; the risk is what a code points to. This scanner never opens anything automatically — it shows the full website address or UPI payee first. Check the name carefully: scam codes use look-alike addresses, and you never need to enter your UPI PIN to receive money.