Back to the app

How to use Carded

Carded is a privacy-first web app: it runs right in your phone’s browser, on-device and offline, with no app store, no download, and no hardware. That’s the only thing that works differently from a normal app, so here’s the whole picture: opening it, adding it to your home screen, getting a clean scan, and fixing camera issues.

Start here, 3 steps
1Open the link

Go to trycarded.app/app in your phone’s browser (Safari, Chrome, whatever you use). It opens instantly. Nothing to download, no App Store.

2Add it to your home screen

So it opens full-screen with its own icon like a normal app, and keeps working with no signal. Steps for every browser are in section 3 below.

3Scan an ID

Tap Scan ID and aim at the barcode on the back of the card. In about a second you get a green pass or red stop, and a chime.

Open Carded now

1Get a clean scan

Carded reads the PDF417 barcode on the back of the ID, the wide striped block, not the photo side. A good scan takes a second when the barcode is framed and in focus.

Camera won’t focus, or the barcode is worn? Wipe the camera lens, hold the ID flat about 4–6 inches away in good light, and let the camera settle for a second so the dense barcode comes into focus. If it still won’t read, tap “Enter date of birth manually” to check age from the ID’s printed date of birth.

2The camera won’t open

The most common cause: you opened Carded inside an in-app browser. When you tap a link from a text message, email, Facebook, or Instagram, the phone opens a stripped-down browser that blocks the camera.

The fix: open Carded in a real browser app. Open Chrome, Safari, or Samsung Internet (whatever you normally use) and go to trycarded.app/app directly. If a link opened inside another app, use that screen’s menu and choose “Open in browser” or “Open in Chrome.”

If you tapped “Block” on the camera prompt

Android (Chrome): tap the lock or ⓘ icon at the left of the address bar → Permissions (or Site settings) → Camera → Allow, then reload the page and tap Scan ID again.

iPhone (Safari): tap the “aA” button in the address bar → Website Settings → Camera → Allow. Or go to Settings → Safari → Camera and set it to Allow.

3Add Carded to your home screen

Installing Carded to your home screen gives you a one-tap icon that opens full screen like a normal app, and it keeps working offline after the first load. Pick your browser:

iPhone & iPad, Safari

  1. Open trycarded.app in Safari.
  2. Tap the Share button (the square with an up arrow, at the bottom).
  3. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
  4. Tap Add. The Carded icon appears on your home screen.

Android, Chrome

  1. Open trycarded.app in Chrome.
  2. Tap the ⋮ menu (top right).
  3. Tap Add to Home screen (it may say Install app).
  4. Tap Add or Install.

Android, Samsung Internet

  1. Open trycarded.app in Samsung Internet.
  2. Tap the menu (the three lines, usually bottom right).
  3. Tap Add page to → Home screen.
  4. Tap Add.

Android, Firefox

  1. Open trycarded.app in Firefox.
  2. Tap the ⋮ menu.
  3. Tap Add to Home screen (or Install).
  4. Confirm with Add.

Android, Microsoft Edge

  1. Open trycarded.app in Edge.
  2. Tap the ••• menu (bottom).
  3. Tap Add to phone → Install.

4Still stuck?

If scanning still isn’t working after trying a real browser and manual entry, email us at support@trycarded.app with your phone model and browser, and what you see on screen. We’ll get you sorted.