Open it on an Android phone
Open this page in Chrome on an Android phone. Chrome has a feature called Web NFC that lets a website talk to the phone's NFC chip - that is the whole engine behind this page.
Online NFC Reader
I built this so you can read an NFC tag straight from your browser - no app, no sign-up. Tap Scan a Tag, hold your phone to the tag, and its contents appear right away. Switch to the Write tab and you can put a link or text onto a tag too. Everything runs on your phone, and nothing you scan ever leaves it.
Chrome on Android
Android · Chrome
Read an NFC tag
Tap the button, then hold a tag to the top of your phone. I'll show you what's on it.
Do you want a native NFC experience with more NFC functions? Get the NFC.cool app!
Read NFC
Hold your NFC Tag on the top back of your phone.
Tag read
Serial number
Technical details
Android · Chrome
Write an NFC tag
Do you want a native NFC experience with more NFC functions? Get the NFC.cool app!
Write NFC
Hold your NFC Tag on the top back of your phone.
Tag written
Written to the tag
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Something went wrong.
iPhone
Browser NFC isn't available on iPhone
Apple doesn't let any browser reach the NFC chip. I made the free NFC.cool app to read and write tags on iPhone instead.
Open in Chrome
Switch to Chrome to scan here
You're on Android, so in-browser reading and writing work - they just need Chrome. Open this page in Chrome and the reader switches on.
Android + Chrome only
Scan this with an Android phone to open the reader there. In-browser NFC needs Chrome on Android.
On an iPhone? Get the NFC.cool app.
How It Works
Pick Read or Write
Reading shows you everything stored on a tag. Writing puts a link or a short piece of text onto one. I ask Chrome for NFC permission the first time, and it remembers your answer.
Hold a tag to your phone
Touch the tag to the top of your phone. I decode or write it right there on your device - I never see it, nothing is uploaded, and nothing is stored.
What You Can Read From an NFC Tag
Links and URLs
The most common tag content - a web address that opens a page, a profile, or a menu. I show you the full link so you can see exactly where it points before you tap it.
Plain text
Notes, instructions, IDs, or any short message stored as a text record. I decode the text and its language straight from the chip.
Other records
Wi-Fi credentials, contact cards, and app-specific data show up as typed records. You also see the tag's unique serial number, which is the same on every read.
Empty or locked tags
A blank tag reads cleanly with no records - handy for checking a fresh tag before you write to it. Locked tags still report their type and serial number.
Want to Do More Than Read and Write?
The reader on this page handles the everyday jobs - read a tag and write common data to one. For most people that is the whole story, and the browser’s Web NFC API stops right about there: plain NDEF records, Android Chrome only. The NFC.cool app does everything on this page, then keeps going where a browser cannot:
Lock, format and protect tags
Lock a tag so its contents can never change, wipe one back to blank, or password-protect it so only your devices can rewrite it.
Encrypt secrets with NFC Safe
NFC Safe encrypts a secret onto the chip itself with AES-256, so the tag reads as scrambled data to anything but the app. How NFC Safe works.
Automate what a tap does
A tag can fire a webhook, run an iOS Shortcut, speak its contents aloud, or count how often it is scanned. How to count NFC tag scans.
Clone, reset and inspect tags
Clone a tag, dump and identify its raw chip memory, or reprogram NFC-gated hardware like 3D-printer filament spools and electric-toothbrush heads.
NFC on iPhone Needs the App
Apple blocks NFC in every iOS browser, so no website can read or write tags on an iPhone or iPad. The NFC.cool app does it natively, just as well as on Android.
Online NFC Reader FAQ
Can I read and write NFC tags without an app?
Yes, on an Android phone in Chrome. The page uses your browser's built-in Web NFC, so there is nothing to install - tap Scan to read a tag, or use the Write tab to put a link, text, contact, Wi-Fi network and more onto one.
Can I write a Wi-Fi network or contact card to a tag?
Yes. Pick Wi-Fi network or Contact card in the Write dropdown and fill in the fields. A Wi-Fi tag prompts Android phones to join the network; a contact tag stores a standard vCard that phones offer to save.
Does it work on iPhone?
No. Apple blocks NFC for every iOS browser, so no website can read or write tags on an iPhone or iPad. The free NFC.cool app does it on iPhone instead.
Which browsers are supported?
Web NFC works only in Chrome and other Chromium browsers on Android. Desktop and iOS browsers do not support it - if yours cannot, the page shows what to do instead.
Is the online NFC reader free?
Completely free - no sign-up and no scan limit. Tags are read and written on your own device, and nothing is ever uploaded.
Read and Write NFC Tags Anywhere
This page covers the basics in the browser. The free NFC.cool app goes further - it reads any tag and writes 25+ kinds of data: links, Wi-Fi, contacts, shortcuts and more, on both iPhone and Android. I build and maintain it myself.