Frequently Asked Questions

PrivyQR's core tools — QR scanning and basic QR generation — are completely free and always will be. We also offer an optional Pro upgrade ($9 one-time) that unlocks professional features like SVG export, custom logo embedding, and designer QR styles. There are no subscriptions and no recurring charges.

PrivyQR processes all QR code data locally in your browser using JavaScript. When you scan a QR code, the image data stays on your device and is decoded using the jsQR library running in your browser's memory. No images, QR code contents, or personal data are ever sent to any server. We use basic anonymous traffic analytics (GA4) to improve the service, but your QR data never leaves your device. You can verify this yourself by opening your browser's developer tools and monitoring the network tab while scanning.

Absolutely. You can upload any image file containing a QR code, including screenshots, photos, and saved images. You can also paste images directly from your clipboard using Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on Mac), which is especially convenient for scanning screenshots. The scanner supports JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP, and other common image formats. You can even drag and drop multiple images to scan them all at once.

PrivyQR can read all standard QR code formats including URLs, plain text, WiFi network credentials (WPA/WPA2/WEP), vCard contacts, email addresses (both mailto: and MATMSG formats), phone numbers (tel:), SMS messages, and geographic coordinates (geo:). The content type is automatically detected and displayed with relevant action buttons — for example, URLs get an "Open Link" button, and WiFi codes show the password with a copy option.

PrivyQR requires an initial internet connection to load the page and its JavaScript libraries from the CDN. However, once the page is fully loaded, the scanning and generation features work without an active internet connection since all processing happens locally in your browser's JavaScript engine. For the best offline experience, keep the tab open after the initial page load. We are exploring service worker support to enable full offline capability in the future.

PrivyQR is a web application that works in any modern mobile browser — there is no native app to install. This is actually a deliberate privacy advantage: native apps can request access to your contacts, photo library, and location data. A web app only has access to what you explicitly provide it (like a camera feed or an uploaded image). Simply open privyqr.com in Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or any mobile browser and start scanning immediately.

Yes, PrivyQR supports PDF scanning. We use Mozilla's open-source PDF.js library to render each page of your PDF document as an image, then scan every page for QR codes using the same jsQR decoding engine. This is perfect for processing boarding passes, event tickets, invoices, shipping labels, and any document that contains QR codes. The PDF file is read directly into your browser's memory and never uploaded to any server.

PrivyQR uses the jsQR library, which provides highly accurate QR code detection comparable to native scanning apps. It can handle QR codes that are rotated, slightly skewed, or partially damaged (depending on the error correction level encoded in the QR code). For best results, ensure the QR code is clearly visible, well-lit, and not excessively blurry. If a scan fails, try cropping the image closer to the QR code or adjusting the image brightness.

PrivyQR works in all modern browsers including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Opera — on both desktop and mobile. Camera scanning requires a browser that supports the getUserMedia API, which has been available in all major browsers since 2017. We recommend keeping your browser up to date for the best experience. Internet Explorer is not supported.

Yes. PrivyQR includes a full-featured QR code generator that supports URLs, plain text, WiFi network credentials, vCard contacts, and pre-filled email links. You can customize the foreground and background colors, choose from multiple sizes (256px, 512px, or 1024px), and select the error correction level. Generated QR codes can be downloaded as high-quality PNG images or copied directly to your clipboard for quick sharing.

PrivyQR does not store any of your QR code data. There are no databases, no server-side logs of your scans, and no session data. When you close the browser tab, all traces of your scanning session vanish from memory. We cannot see what you scan because the data never leaves your browser. We use Google Analytics for anonymous page-view statistics to improve the service, but this never has access to your QR code content, images, or scan results. You can verify this by checking your browser's developer tools — there are no outbound requests containing your scanned data.

Your phone's built-in QR scanner may send data to Apple or Google for processing, analytics, or to check URLs against their safe browsing databases. PrivyQR is fully transparent about its processing: everything happens in open-source JavaScript that you can audit in your browser's developer tools. Additionally, PrivyQR offers features that built-in scanners typically lack, including batch scanning from multiple images, PDF document scanning, clipboard paste support, smart content type detection with contextual actions, and a full QR code generator.