You’re seeing them more and more often online — QR codes. Sometimes they’re shared for a promotion, a link to a website, or a digital business card. You’ll spot them on websites, in your social media feed, or even shared via WhatsApp.
But what can you do when a QR code appears on your screen? Most of us already know how to scan a QR code — usually with your phone’s camera app or a barcode scanner app. However, scanning an image works a bit differently. There are several ways to scan a QR code (Quick Response) that appears as an image on your screen.
To scan a QR code from an image, you first need to save it to your phone. The easiest way to do this is by taking a screenshot. But how exactly do you do that? It’s quite simple — you just need to know how it works. Keep in mind that the process may vary slightly depending on your phone.
Taking a screenshot on an iPhone is easy. On most recent models, simply press the side button and the home button at the same time, then quickly release them. A thumbnail of your screenshot will appear at the bottom of the screen.
Each new iPhone model comes with a few small changes compared to the previous one. To take a screenshot on an iPhone 11 or newer, press the side button and the volume up button at the same time, and hold them briefly. Your screen will be captured automatically. Want to make edits? Just tap the screenshot preview to crop or adjust it before saving.
For older models like the iPhone 8, first open the screen you want to capture. Then press the sleep/wake button on the right side of your device and quickly tap the home button. The screen will flash — that means your screenshot has been taken!
Because there are many different brands and types of Android devices, the method can vary slightly depending on your phone. Below are the two most common options. If neither works, check your phone manufacturer’s support page for specific instructions.
First, open the screen you want to capture.
Whether you’ve taken a screenshot of a QR code or received one in a photo, here’s how to quickly and efficiently use it. We’ll walk you through the steps for both Android and iOS devices and share some useful tips to make the process even easier. Whether it’s a link to a website, a digital coupon, or contact information, this guide helps you scan QR codes from photos in no time.
Since the release of iOS 15 (and now already iOS 17), you can scan QR codes not only with the Camera app but also directly from screenshots and photos in your photo library. To make this feature work properly, you’ll need to enable **Live Text**.
Live Text automatically recognizes information in your photos and makes it interactive. For example, if you take a picture of a business card, flyer, or information board, your iPhone can detect the text and turn it into usable content. This allows you to call a number, send an email, or look up an address directly by tapping the highlighted text in the photo.
Live Text also works within the Camera app — simply point your camera at text, and you can quickly copy it. However, Live Text officially supports only a few languages: Chinese, German, English, French, Italian, Cantonese, Portuguese, and Spanish. Fortunately, there’s a simple workaround to activate it in other languages.
To activate Live Text, follow these steps:
When you’ve taken a screenshot or received a photo containing a QR code, you can scan it by following these steps:
If you come across a QR code in your browser or another app — and it’s displayed as an image — you can usually open the link right away. Here’s how to easily scan a QR code on your iPhone:
Google Lens is an image recognition technology developed by Google — and as the name suggests, it lets you literally *search what you see*. With Google Lens, you can not only scan images and text but also easily read QR codes.
One major advantage of this Google product is that it’s available for both Android and Apple users. The app is free to download from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Here’s how it works:
Scanning a QR code to open a URL and navigate directly to a webpage takes just a few simple steps. Whether you come across a QR code in an app, on a website, or as an image in your gallery, the easy scanning methods described in this article let you quickly and effortlessly access the information you need.
Remember, scanning a QR code with your phone is a convenient and efficient way to explore and interact with different types of digital content. With this knowledge, you can now use QR codes as a bridge between the physical and digital worlds, all in just a few quick steps.
