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QRCodeDojo
Tools

QR Code Scanner

Read a QR Code with your camera or from an image — and see exactly where it goes before you open it.

  • Free, no account
  • Nothing uploaded
  • Decoded on your device

Camera off

Your browser will ask for permission. Frames are read in this tab and thrown away.

Hold the code inside the frame, about 15–30 cm away. Good light helps more than a steady hand.

Decoded

Nothing scanned yet. The decoded content appears here — nothing is opened until you choose to open it.

How to scan a QR Code here

  1. With the camera. Press Start camera, allow access, and hold the code inside the frame. It is read as soon as it is in focus — the camera then switches off on its own.
  2. From an image. Choose a photo or screenshot, drop it on the box, or copy it and paste with Ctrl/Cmd + V. Useful for a code in an email, a PDF or a social post that you cannot point a camera at.
  3. Read the result before opening it. The decoded text is shown in full, with any warnings above it. Nothing happens until you press Open link.

What the safety checks look for

QR phishing — sometimes called quishing — works because nobody can read a code by eye. A sticker over a parking meter or a restaurant menu sends you to a page that looks right and is not. The scanner flags the patterns that show up most often:

  • Short and redirect links such as bit.ly or a dynamic-QR domain. The destination is decided by someone else's server and can be changed after printing.
  • Look-alike domains written in international characters, which can imitate a real brand letter for letter.
  • A user name before the domain (https://yourbank.com@other.site). Everything before the @ is ignored; the link goes to whatever follows it.
  • Bare IP addresses and links that use http:// rather than https://.
  • App schemes other than web, mail, phone, SMS and maps are shown as text and never opened from here.

Note A clean result is not a guarantee

These checks catch common tricks, not every scam. Before typing a password or card number into a page you reached from a QR Code, check the domain in the address bar is the one you expect — the same as you would for a link in an email.

Static or dynamic? Now you can tell

If the decoded link is the business's own domain, the code is static: the address is printed into the pattern and will work for as long as that page exists. If it is a short domain belonging to a QR Code company, it is dynamic, and it stops working the day that company's subscription lapses. The difference is explained here.

Limits

  • One code is read at a time. If an image contains several, the first one found wins — crop to the one you want.
  • Damaged, very small or low-contrast codes may need a closer, sharper picture.
  • Micro QR, Data Matrix, Aztec and barcodes are not read; this page is for QR Codes only.

Ask the sensei

Frequently asked questions

Is the image or camera feed uploaded anywhere?
No. The code is found and decoded by JavaScript running in this tab. Camera frames are read and discarded as they arrive; an uploaded image is opened from your disk by the browser and never leaves it. There is no QRCodeDojo server that could receive them — the site is static files on a CDN.
Why does the scanner not open the link automatically?
Because a QR Code is a link you cannot read until it is decoded, and that is exactly what makes it useful to scammers. This page shows you the real destination first, points out the patterns most often used in QR phishing, and opens nothing until you press the button.
The camera does not start. What can I do?
Your browser will ask for permission the first time — if you dismissed it, allow the camera for this site from the address bar. The camera only works on secure (https) pages, and another app or tab using it will block it. If none of that helps, take a photo with your phone's camera app and upload it in the Upload image tab.
Why can it not find the code in my photo?
The usual causes are blur, a code that fills too little of the picture, glare across the modules, or a cropped quiet zone (the white border). Crop closer to the code, keep the white border in frame, and avoid shooting straight into a glossy surface. iPhone HEIC photos cannot be opened by most browsers — upload a screenshot of the photo instead.
Can it read Wi-Fi, contact and calendar codes?
Yes. Wi-Fi codes show the network name and security type, with the password hidden until you choose to see it. vCard and MECARD contacts, email drafts, SMS, phone numbers, map locations, calendar events and two-factor setup codes are all broken out into readable fields.
What is a passkey QR Code?
When you sign in on a computer with a passkey stored on your phone, the browser shows a QR Code that starts with FIDO:/. This scanner recognises those and decodes what they contain. The passkey QR reader explains them in more detail.

Next stage

Related tools

Passkey QR Reader Screenshot in, FIDO:/ link out — with the request type and how old the code is. URL QR Code A website, a menu, a booking page — encoded directly, with no redirect in between. Wi-Fi QR Code SSID, password and security type, encoded locally. The password never leaves your device. Print Size Checker Module size in mm, scan distance, export dpi and a verdict you can check.