QR Controller is distributed on Steam, so the Steam Subscriber Agreement already covers the usual things: purchases, refunds, your Steam account, and Workshop rules. We won't repeat any of that here.

These terms only cover the extra things QR Controller does that a typical game doesn't. They're written in plain English on purpose.

• QR Controller installs a virtual gamepad driver so phones can act as controllers.
  
• Phones connect over your own WiFi, or through our internet relay if you pick "Via Internet".
  
• Your settings, controller layouts, and logs are stored on your computer.
  
• Only use it with computers you own or have permission to control, and don't use it to break game rules.
  
• It's made by a small team and provided as-is. We can't promise it works with every game, phone, or network.

If that sounds fair, the details are below.


QR Controller turns phones and tablets into game controllers. It runs on your computer, shows a QR code, and when someone scans it, their phone opens a controller page that sends inputs to your computer. To your games, those inputs look like a regular gamepad. These terms cover both the desktop app and the controller pages your guests open.


To create virtual gamepads, QR Controller sets up some system-level components:

• Windows: ViGEmBus, an open-source virtual gamepad driver by Nefarius Software Solutions, plus Microsoft Edge WebView2 for the app's interface, plus a Windows Firewall rule, scoped to the app itself, so phones on your network can reach it.
  
• Linux: nothing extra is installed. The app uses the kernel's built-in uinput interface, and Steam's standard device rules already provide access to it.
  
• macOS: the app asks for Accessibility permission, which macOS requires for simulating input.

These components have their own licenses from their own makers, and those licenses apply to them. If you uninstall QR Controller and want the driver gone too, ViGEmBus can be removed separately from your system's installed-apps list.


As far as your computer and games can tell, input from QR Controller is real controller input. It comes through the same kind of widely used virtual gamepad driver that many popular controller tools rely on. To date (June 2026), we've never had a report of anyone being banned or penalized by a game for using QR Controller. Still, a few things are worth knowing:

• Some games and anti-cheat systems have their own rules about virtual controllers or remote input, and those rules can change without us knowing. For competitive games, a quick check of the game's policy is worth it. That part is on you.
  
• Don't use QR Controller to cheat or to automate gameplay where the game's rules don't allow it.
  
• If a game ever does object to virtual controllers, we can't change that, and sorting it out would be between you and the game's publisher.

Same WiFi: the app runs a small web server on your computer, and devices on your network connect to it directly. Nothing goes through our servers. Anyone on your network with the QR code or link can open the controller page, so use the Secure lobby option if you want to approve each person before they join. Who you let in is up to you.

Via Internet: the connection is set up through our signaling servers and relayed (currently via Cloudflare's network) through qrcontroller.app, so people can join from other networks. Traffic is encrypted in transit. This mode depends on our servers being online. We work to keep them up, but we can't guarantee them forever. Same WiFi mode doesn't depend on our servers and keeps working regardless.

• Your settings, controller layouts, and log files are stored locally on your computer.
  
• In "Via Internet" mode, connection details like IP addresses pass through our servers because that's how connections work. We use them to make the connection happen. They may appear briefly in routine server logs for debugging and abuse prevention, and they're not sold or used to build profiles.
  
• Workshop browsing, subscribing, and publishing go through Steam's services under Steam's privacy policy.

If a future version of the app collects more than this, we'll say so clearly and update these terms.


You can build controller layouts and share them on the Steam Workshop. Steam's Workshop rules apply to anything you publish, so make sure what you upload is yours to share.

Layouts you download were made by other users. The app cleans them up before use, but we can't review everything people make. A layout may, for example, load its images from links its creator chose. If something looks wrong or inappropriate, please report it through the Workshop.


When friends scan your QR code, you're the host. Make sure your guests are okay with using their phone as a controller, and remember their inputs go to your computer (or through the relay in internet mode).

And one firm rule: only connect QR Controller to computers you own or have clear permission to control. Don't use it to send input to someone else's machine without their knowledge.


QR Controller is built by a small team and provided as-is. Phones, browsers, routers, operating systems, and games come in endless combinations, and we can't promise every one of them works, or that the app is free of bugs. To the maximum extent the law allows, we're not liable for indirect damages or losses from using the app.

Some places give you consumer rights that no agreement can take away. Nothing in these terms tries to.


If QR Controller gains features that change what's described here, we'll update these terms and mention it in the patch notes. Continuing to use the app after an update means you accept the new version. We'll keep them just as readable.


Ask us in the QR Controller Steam Community discussions. We read them.