How to scan a QR code on an iPhone
The Camera app does it natively. The interesting case is a code that exists as a photo.
The Camera app
Open Camera, point it at the code, and a yellow notification appears with the decoded content — tap it to act. No app, no setup, no permission to grant beyond the camera itself.
The one thing it will not do is read a code from a photo in your library. Pointing the camera at a picture displayed in Photos usually fails: the screen's pixel grid interferes with the camera's, and the code is often too small within the frame.
Control Centre and the Code Scanner
iOS includes a Code Scanner in Control Centre on recent versions. It is faster to reach than the Camera app and works from the lock screen, but it is the same live-camera scanner underneath — it still cannot read an existing image.
Reading a code from a photo
This is the gap a browser tool fills. Open the page in Safari, tap the upload area, and pick the image from Photos. The decoding happens on the device; nothing is uploaded.
Safari does not expose the native barcode API, so the page falls back to a JavaScript decoder bundled with it. That adds about 40 KB to a page you have already loaded — not the megabyte a WebAssembly build would need.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an app to scan QR codes on iPhone?
No. The Camera app and Control Centre both scan natively. A browser is only needed for codes that exist as images.
Can I scan a QR code from a screenshot on iPhone?
Not with the Camera app. Copy the screenshot of the save it to Photos, then use a browser-based reader that accepts image uploads or clipboard paste.
Is it safe to scan unknown QR codes?
The scan is safe; acting on the content is the risk. iOS shows you the URL before opening it — read the domain before tapping, especially for short links.