Learn how to scan a QR code that you see on your iPhone or Android phone.

Updated May 17, 2025.
Published May 13, 2025.

Every day, people see QR codes on their Android phones and iPhones that they would like to scan to visit websites, but they do not know how to scan them with the same phones. The good news is that it can be done.

Scanning QR codes by using Google Lens on an iPhone or Android phone.

Google Lens is typically pre-installed on Android phones, particularly on Google Pixel devices and some Samsung Galaxy phones. If it's not pre-installed, you can download and install the standalone Google Lens app from the Google Play Store. You can also access Lens within the Google Photos app or through the Google Assistant.

In order to scan a QR code that you see on your iPhone or Android phone, take a screenshot of the screen, tap on the Google Lens icon, tap on the image icon, tap on the image that has the QR code, and then tap on the URL at the top of the QR code. See the video below that shows how to do it on an Android phone:

Scanning QR codes by using the Android phone app.

Let us assume that you are on YouTube and want to scan the QR code on the page to the left. The QR code contains the link to the Pac-Man game.


Android devices running the Android 9 operating system and above have built-in QR code scanning capabilities within their camera apps. Follow the instructions:

1. Take a screenshot of the YouTube screen.

2. Exit YouTube and go to the default Android camera app, which is the camera app that came with your phone. Navigate to the QR code scanning feature that is integrated directly into the camera app. It should be located under the “More” option. Tap on the "More" option.

3. Tap the QR code icon; the QR code screen will display, and you should see the message “Align QR Code within frame to scan.”


4. Tap the image icon in the top-left corner of the screen to go to the "Recent" images screen.


5. The “Recent” images screen should look similar to the screen below, but not exactly. Tap the image that has the QR code for the Pac-Man game (but do not tap on the “Four Corners Arrows Line” icon in the image because the “Open with Photos” screen will be displayed). Then, a screen with the recent images of your files will be displayed, and you should see a screen with the title “Scan result” displaying the URL of the page with the Pac-Man game

6. Tap on “GO TO LINK,” and the page with the Pac-Man game will be displayed.


NOTE: If you mistakenly tap on the “Four Corners Arrows Line icon” and are sent to the “Open with Photos” screen, simply click on the left arrow to return to the screen with the images and tap on the desired image without making the same mistake.

A QR code, short for Quick Response code, is a two-dimensional barcode that stores information in a square grid of black and white pixels. When scanned with a smartphone or other device, it can rapidly decode and transmit the information, which can include website URLs, text, contact details, or other data.

In 1994, Masahiro Hara, an employee of a Japanese automotive company named Denso Wave, envisioned the idea of QR codes while playing the game Go. Go is a two-player board game of strategy where players take turns placing black and white stones on the intersections of a grid. The goal is to control more territory on the board by surrounding empty intersections with your stones.