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.
Hold your tag close
Touch an NFC tag to the top of your phone.
Tag read
Serial number
Android · Chrome
Write an NFC tag
Hold your tag close
Touch the tag to your phone to write to it.
Tag written
Written to the tag
Locking is permanent. Once locked, this tag can never be written again.
Hold your tag again
Touch the same tag to your phone to lock it.
Tag locked
This tag is now read-only
It keeps its data and can still be read anywhere - it just can't be rewritten.
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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.
Write and Lock Tags in Your Browser
Reading is only half of it. On the Write tab I let you put a link or a line of text onto a tag - the same way I would program one in the app. Pick what you want to store, type it in, hold a tag to your phone, and it is written.
Once a tag is written, you can lock it. Locking makes the tag read-only for good: it keeps working everywhere, but no one (including you) can ever change it again. I put a confirmation step in front of it because there is no undo.
Writing and locking need the same setup as reading - an Android phone running Chrome. On iPhone, the NFC.cool app handles writing and locking instead.
Want to Do More Than Read and Write?
The reader on this page handles the everyday jobs - read a tag, write a link or some text, lock it. 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. When you want to go further, that is what I built the NFC.cool app for. It does everything on this page, then keeps going where a browser simply cannot:
Write 25+ kinds of data
This page writes a link or plain text. The app writes Wi-Fi logins, contact cards, payment links, Shortcuts, Spotify, social profiles, even crypto wallet addresses - 25+ types, each from a ready-made template.
Protect and encrypt tags
A browser can only lock a tag read-only. The app also password-protects tags so only your devices can touch them, and NFC Safe encrypts a secret onto the chip itself with AES-256.
Automate every tap
Wire a tag to fire a webhook to your server, run an iOS Shortcut, speak its contents aloud, or open a link the moment it is tapped.
See inside the chip
Power-User mode dumps a tag's full memory, names the chip - NTAG, MIFARE, FeliCa and more - and on iPhone sends raw APDU commands. Web NFC only ever shows you NDEF records.
There is one more thing no browser can do: run on iPhone at all. Apple blocks NFC in every iOS browser, so a web reader cannot work there - the app reads and writes tags on iPhone just as well as on Android.
Online NFC Reader FAQ
Can I read an NFC tag online without an app?
Yes - on an Android phone using Chrome. This page reads the tag through your browser's built-in Web NFC support, so there is nothing to install. On iPhone, browser-based reading is not possible and you need the NFC.cool app.
Can I write to an NFC tag from the browser?
Yes. Switch to the Write tab, choose a link or text, type the value, and hold a tag to your phone. Writing uses the same Web NFC support as reading, so it also needs Chrome on Android. The app handles writing on iPhone.
What does locking a tag do?
Locking makes a tag permanently read-only. Its data still works everywhere, but it can never be rewritten - not by you, not by anyone. There is no way to undo it, so I always ask you to confirm first.
Does this work on iPhone?
No. Apple does not allow Safari or any other iOS browser to access the NFC chip, so no website can read or write NFC tags on iPhone or iPad. The free NFC.cool app reads, writes, and locks NFC tags on iPhone instead.
Is the online NFC reader free?
Completely free. There is no sign-up, no limit on scans, and no payment. The tag's data is read or written on your own device and never uploaded.
Which browsers can read and write NFC tags?
Web NFC is supported by Chrome and most Chromium-based browsers on Android. Desktop browsers and all iOS browsers do not support it. If your browser cannot use NFC, this page shows you what to do instead.
Why don't I see the reader on my device?
It comes down to one of three things: you are on iPhone (browser NFC is blocked by Apple), you are on a desktop browser (no NFC hardware), or you are on Android in a browser other than Chrome. On Android, open the page in Chrome and turn NFC on in Settings.
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.