Read every NDEF tag
Tap any NFC tag and inspect its NDEF records — URLs, contacts, plain text, MIME data, app launches, custom payloads — plus raw bytes and tech type.
NFC Reader & Writer
iOSAndroidRead every common NFC tag and write 25+ message types. Encrypt secrets on the tag itself with NFC Safe (AES-256-GCM). Lock and password-protect tags so they can't be tampered with.
What you can do
Write 25+ message types
Websites, phone numbers, vCards, Wi-Fi credentials, Apple Pay & PayPal, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Shortcuts, Instagram, X, Threads, LinkedIn, Mastodon, and more.
Lock & password-protect
Make a tag permanently read-only, or password-protect it so only authorised devices can read or write. Industrial-grade tag hardening.
Format, batch-write, clone
Format empty tags, batch-write the same payload to a stack of tags for events or product launches, and clone the contents of one tag to another.
Auto-actions on read
Auto-run iOS Shortcuts, speak the result aloud, fire a webhook, or open links automatically when a tag is tapped. Five hooks, one tap.
Deeper than your average NFC app
NFC Safe — encrypt secrets on the tag itself
iOSAndroidMost NFC apps treat the tag like a postcard — anyone with a phone can read it. NFC Safe treats it like a sealed envelope. Your secret (password, recovery phrase, license key, anything text) gets encrypted on-device with AES-256-GCM, derived from your passphrase via PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 over 100,000 iterations, then written to the tag as an external-type NDEF record. Stolen tag, lost tag, brute-forced tag — without the passphrase, the payload is noise.
Same crypto on both platforms. The format is interoperable: encrypt on iPhone, decrypt on Android, and vice-versa.
Tap counter — see how often each tag is used
iOSNFC.cool keeps a quiet history of every tag you tap. The tap counter shows how many times a specific tag has been read or written, when, and what it carried each time. Useful for the event organiser who wants to know which posters actually got scanned, the warehouse tagging inventory, or the curious person wondering whether anyone's actually using that fridge magnet.
OpenPrintTag — your 3D-printer filament, on the spool
iOSAndroidOpenPrintTag is an open standard for embedding filament spool metadata (material, color, manufacturer, UUID, remaining length) into a small CBOR-encoded NDEF record. NFC.cool reads and writes the format natively on both platforms — so Bambu, Prusa, or any printer that wires up an NFC reader can identify your spool the moment it's loaded.
The same format powers the structured webhook payloads on the Webhooks & Automation page — fire a POST to your print farm the second a fresh spool is detected.
Sonicare brush-head reset
iOSAndroidPhilips Sonicare brush heads carry an NFC tag that tracks usage so the handle nags you to replace it. NFC.cool can reset that counter — read the tag's state, walk you through the reset, write the new state back. Same on both platforms. (We don't make brush heads; we just give yours another month of dignity.)
Hex memory dump & tag analysis
iOSAndroidFor the people who want to know what's actually on the chip: NFC.cool can dump a tag's full memory as hex, detect the underlying chip model (NTAG213/215/216, NTAG424 DNA, MIFARE Classic/Ultralight, ISO 15693 variants, FeliCa, etc.), and report total bytes, user bytes, lock pages, and capability containers. Built for developers, makers, and anyone debugging a stubborn tag.
Cryptocurrency on a tap
iOSAndroidEncode Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Lightning, or any wallet address as a payment-URI NDEF record. Tap to share a static wallet at conferences, embed in a sticker on your product, or hand someone a metal card with a permanent address. Reading is reciprocal — scan a crypto tag, deep-link straight into your wallet app.
Wi-Fi onboarding without typing the password
iOSAndroidWrite your Wi-Fi SSID, security type, and password to a tag once. From then on, anyone who taps it joins the network — no spelling out the password, no scribbled sticky note in the AirBnB. Reverse it: read a Wi-Fi tag from someone else's house and let the OS prompt to join.
Speak it aloud
iOSFor accessibility, for hands-free workflows, or just because it's nice — flip the speech-synthesis hook on and every tag's payload gets read aloud the moment you tap it. Speech rate is configurable; works with VoiceOver and other assistive tech in parallel.
Shortcuts & App Intents
iOSFive built-in Intents wire NFC.cool into the rest of iOS: GetLastNfcTag, WriteNfcType, LaunchScan, ScanIntent, and GetLastQrCode. Build Shortcuts that scan a tag, parse its payload, kick off whatever you want next — automation, logging, journaling, you name it. Powers the lock-screen Scan Button control on iOS 17+ too.
iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
iOSScan history, NFC Safe entries, and write templates sync seamlessly across every device signed in to your iCloud account. Tap a tag on the iPhone in your pocket and the scan is in your iPad library a moment later. NFC.cool now runs on Apple Silicon Macs too, so the same library shows up there.
Power-user mode
iOSTwo features for serious NFC operators on iOS: CSV batch write — upload a spreadsheet of payloads, hand the phone to an assistant, write the whole stack of tags in one session. And Expert APDU mode — send raw ISO 7816 commands to the tag and inspect the responses, for when you're integrating with an unusual reader, a custom protocol, or just want to see what the chip will admit to.
Supported tags & technologies
Tag families
- NFC Forum Type 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
- NTAG 213, 215, 216, 424 DNA, NTAG I²C variants
- MIFARE Classic 1K/4K, MIFARE Ultralight, MIFARE DESFire
- ISO 14443 A/B, ISO 15693, FeliCa (iOS)
Record types
- URI (web, mailto, tel, sms, geo, custom schemes)
- Text (language-tagged)
- vCard / contact
- Wi-Fi credentials, Bluetooth pairing
- Smart Poster (composite)
- Application launch
- Cryptocurrency address (URI-based)
- OpenPrintTag (3D-printer filament metadata)
- NFC Safe (encrypted external type, urn:nfc:ext:crypto)
- MIME, External, raw bytes
Platform notes
- iOS 16+ (background tag reading from the lock screen on iPhone XS and newer)
- Android 8.0+ (API 26), foreground NFC reading
- Tag writes from iOS require Core NFC entitlements — built into the app
- Background NFC reading on Android requires the app to be in the foreground
Free vs Platinum
| Free | Platinum | |
|---|---|---|
| Read every NDEF tag | ✓ | ✓ |
| Analyze tags (chip type, hex memory dump) | ✓ | ✓ |
| OpenPrintTag (read 3D filament spool data) | ✓ | ✓ |
| iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Write NFC tags (URL, text, vCard, Wi-Fi, crypto, …) | ✓ | |
| NFC Safe (AES-256-GCM encrypted secrets) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Format tags, lock, password-protect | ✗ | ✓ |
| Batch read, batch write, batch lock | ✗ | ✓ |
| CSV batch write | ✗ | ✓ |
| Expert mode / custom APDU commands | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tap counter (per-tag usage history) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sonicare brush-head reset | ✗ | ✓ |
| Speech synthesis on read | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webhooks on read | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shortcuts & widgets | ✗ | ✓ |
What people say about NFC
★★★★★
Beautiful UX and nearly flawless execution unlike the other NFC apps.
★★★★★
I LOVE THIS APP. It's awesome for people like me who know little to nothing about NFC tags!
Frequently asked
Does my iPhone need to be unlocked to read a tag?
For most tag scans, no — iPhone XS and newer can read NDEF tags from the lock screen in the background, no app launch required. On Android, the app needs to be in the foreground to read a tag.
Can I read a tag without an internet connection?
Yes. NFC reads and writes happen entirely on-device. NFC.cool never uploads tag content to any server.
Is writing NFC tags safe?
Writing is safe and reversible by default — you can re-write a tag as many times as you like. Use the lock feature only when you're sure: once a tag is permanently locked, it cannot be rewritten.
How secure is NFC Safe?
NFC Safe encrypts payloads with AES-256-GCM, deriving the key from your passphrase via PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 over 100,000 iterations with a 16-byte random salt and a 12-byte nonce per record. Without the passphrase, the payload on the tag is indistinguishable from random bytes.
Does the same NFC Safe tag work on iOS and Android?
Yes. The format is interoperable. Encrypt on one platform, decrypt on the other — same passphrase, same payload.
Will resetting a Sonicare brush head void anything?
It resets the on-tag usage counter so the handle stops nagging you. The brush head itself doesn't know it's been reset; it just keeps brushing. Use your own judgment on when bristles need replacing.
Ready to scan?