Drop in a screenshot, a photo or a saved QR code and see the link inside it — before you open it. Nothing is uploaded; your browser does the reading.
Drop a QR code image here
a screenshot, a photo, a saved PNG — anything with a code in it
…or just paste one — ⌘V / Ctrl V anywhere on this page
No QR code found in that image
Three things fix this nearly every time:
Read on this device · never uploaded · works offline
the two-minute version
A QR code is just text wearing a costume
There's no lookup, no database, no server involved. The squares are the message. Whatever was put in — a web address, wifi details, a phone number — is sitting right there in the pattern, which is why this page can read it without asking anyone's permission or sending your image anywhere.
bit.ly/x7f2q, that's honestly all anyone can tell from the code alone — we'll say so rather than pretend otherwise.From a screenshot
Someone sent you a code in a message or a PDF. Screenshot it, then paste or drop the screenshot above. Cropping to just the code first makes it more reliable.
From a photo
You've photographed a poster, a menu or a parking sign. Big phone photos work fine — the code just needs to be sharp and reasonably square-on.
On a computer
No camera needed. Drag the image file straight onto this page, or copy an image anywhere and hit paste. Same result, no phone involved.
Before you pay
Parking meters and table-service codes are the two most-faked. Read the code, check the domain looks like who you expect, and only then decide.
Fake QR stickers are a real UK problem. Scammers stick their own code over the genuine one on parking meters and charging points, and the fake one takes your card details. If a sticker looks layered over something else, or the link doesn't match the operator, don't pay through it. More on spotting a dodgy code →
Choose the image above — or drag it in, or paste it straight from your clipboard. dottr reads the code on your device and shows you the link inside it. There's no app to install and nothing gets uploaded.
Screenshot it, then open this page and paste or choose that screenshot. Your camera can't point at your own screen, which is why a code someone sends you by WhatsApp or email is so awkward — this is the way round it.
Yes. This page is the scanner. It runs entirely in your browser, works on iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows, and keeps working offline once the page has loaded.
That's exactly what this does. You get the full web address, and the real domain called out separately, before you decide whether to tap it. dottr never opens the link for you.
Feed the image in and copy the result. A QR code is just text drawn as squares, so whatever was put in — a link, wifi details, a phone number, a contact card — comes back out exactly as it went in.
Usually the code is too small in the frame, cut off, or lost in glare. Crop tight to the code, keep all three corner squares plus a little white margin around them in shot, and avoid shooting at a steep angle.
No. The image is decoded by your own browser and never leaves your device. There is no server to send it to — dottr is a static site with no account, no cookies and no upload endpoint.
Photograph the sticker, read it here, and look hard at the domain. Council parking should land on a council or a well-known operator domain — not a lookalike, not a short link, and not a plain http address. If the sticker looks stuck on over something else, treat it as fake and pay another way.
Need to make one instead?
dottr's generator turns a link into a clean, downloadable QR code — same deal, nothing leaves your browser.
Point at a QR code
Drag to your bookmarks bar — then on any site, get its QR and add it to your wallet in a tap.