What it warns about
- Link shorteners and redirects
- Addresses that are bare numbers, or that use look-alike letters to imitate a known name
- Plain http links, which are not encrypted
- Tracking parameters
- Codes that start a payment, join a Wi-Fi network, or prepare a call or message
What it can’t do
Tell you whether a website is honest. A clean-looking address can still belong to a scammer. If a code is on a sticker, or the page it leads to asks for card details, type the address of the real service yourself.
A worked example
A parking sign has a QR code for payment. The check shows a shortened link over plain http. The driver opens the car park operator’s own app instead.
Questions
- Why check a QR code at all?
- You cannot read one by looking at it. A sticker placed over the real code on a parking meter or a menu sends people to a fake payment page.
- Does this open the link?
- No. It shows you the full address and what is unusual about it. You decide whether to go there.
- Is the camera picture sent anywhere?
- No. The picture is read on your device, like every file on this site.
- What does "shortened link" mean?
- The code points to a service that forwards you somewhere else, so the real destination is hidden until you open it. That is common and often harmless, but it is also how fake codes hide.
Your file stays on this device
The tool above runs in a sealed frame that cannot send your file anywhere. It works with airplane mode on, and the counter above it stays at 0. Here is how you can check that yourself.
Related tools
- Clean a link Remove tracking parameters from a link or from pasted text.
- Check a file hash Compare a checksum and see if a file is the type it claims to be.
- Remove metadata Strip location, device and hidden previews from photos and documents.
- Redact PDF Black out names, emails and numbers so they are gone for good.
- Redact image Cover parts of a screenshot or photo with solid boxes.
- Find hidden content Check a PDF or Office file for hidden text, sheets, comments and tracked changes.