Digital Philately

Scan, identify, and collect modern GB barcoded stamps.

Up to now, you've only collected half the story.

Modern GB Stamp Decoder reads the barcode on your Royal Mail stamps and shows the details collectors look for: issue, value, colour, dates, origin and notes. Then you can mark what you have and keep a clean record.

Live on the App Store Live on Google Play No accounts No advertising tracking No barcode uploads Works offline
How it works

Scan. Decode. Collect.

Three simple steps to identify and build your collection.

STEP 01

Scan

Point your camera at the stamp barcode on a modern GB stamp. It can often read through clear mounts and sleeves, although glare or curved plastic may affect scanning.

STEP 02

Decode

Check the issue, value, colour, print date, origin and notes without hunting through raw barcode text.

STEP 03

Collect

Mark it Mint or Used, save it to your list, and make a tidy label for an album page, sleeve, photo or write-up.

Scan-first flow

Camera opens straight to scan. No menus, no setup, no friction. Just point and read.

Collector-friendly decode

Shows the stamp details in terms collectors use, with the technical barcode text kept out of the way.

Digital stamp collection

Mark Mint or Used, see what you already have, and spot the gaps in a set.

Collector labels

Generate clean, printable labels for albums, sleeves, photos or write-ups.

More detail when needed

Use the built-in MGB reference in the free app, with Pro available for collectors who want the additional catalogue detail.

Yours, on your device

Barcode contents, camera images and your collection stay on-device. Privacy-light product analytics help us improve the app; they never include the barcode, image or collection contents.

Currently in TestFlight

The stamp — and the thing it came from.

The next catalogue update treats booklets, business sheets, prestige panes and collector sheets as collectable objects in their own right. These features are in testing and are not yet in the public App Store or Google Play release.

Permanent object references

67 physical products now have locked QO or KO identities, separate from the MGB references of the stamps they contain.

Contents you can see

See the values, quantities, colours and design names of the stamps contained in a booklet, pane or sheet.

Evidence from your copy

Guided checks distinguish facts about the stamp from characteristics of the object, such as its crown, lettering, panel and backing paper.

Your observation stays yours

If your copy differs from the catalogue, the app records your observation first. Reporting it for review remains optional.

Real app screens

Made for sorting modern GB stamps.

Identify the stamp in front of you, then check whether it is already in your collection.

StampDecoder app Decode screen showing fields for a modern GB stamp, including value, barcode generation date, origin, security overlays, pane number and stamp number.

Decode view

Reads the stamp barcode and shows the useful philatelic detail: value, issue, dates, origin and notes.

StampDecoder app Full Decode screen showing supplier, version, label action and save-to-collection controls.

Full decode and labels

Open the full decode when you want supplier details, version data, labels or collection actions.

Sample decode

What you actually see after a scan.

The useful collector details first, with the lower-level barcode information available when you want it.

Example Royal Mail barcoded stamp image used under licence.
Stamp image © Royal Mail Group Ltd. Used with permission under licence.
StampDecoder app Decode screen showing the scanned stamp result fields.
Real Decode screen from the app

1st Class Definitive

Barcoded Machin · KCIII · Plum Purple
Mint · Owned
Value1st Class
ColourPlum Purple
Variant yearM26L · derived 2026
Pack date16 February 2026
Issue date20 March 2026
Barcode date16 January 2026
OriginRetail booklet · book of four
MGB stampK093-B4
Source object (TestFlight)KO049-B4
NoteText-change booklet; Tudor Crown, block lettering and Relay UK panel.
Add to My Collection Create label More detail
Who it's for

Built for collectors of modern GB stamps.

Whether you are checking varieties or keeping a simple list, the job is the same: identify the stamp and record whether you have it.

Barcoded Machins

The barcoded definitive family — from the 2021 trials and full 2022 rollout onward.

KCIII definitives

King Charles III era issues, with colour, supply, and print-date detail.

Regional issues

Country issues for Scotland, Wales, NI and England — flagged as regional.

First Day Covers

FDC coils and prestige panes — origin labelled clearly in the decode.

Sponsored Digital Philately London N1 postmark on a modern GB barcoded stamp.
Sponsored postmark · London N1 · 26 Mar 2026
Digital Philately

Part of modern collecting.

The sponsored postmark is included as a small nod to Digital Philately: real stamps and covers first, with decoded barcode detail as another piece of the record.

Collector context
FAQ

Quick questions, quick answers.

What barcode format does it read?

Royal Mail stamp barcodes, also known as DataMatrix barcodes — including the 2021 trials, the full 2022 rollout, KCIII definitives, regional issues and Christmas stamps.

Does it work offline?

Yes. Scanning and decoding happen on your device. You don't need a connection in the field, and your collection isn't shipped off to a server.

Do you collect any data about me?

The app does not use advertising or cross-app tracking. It sends privacy-light product-usage events to PostHog, without barcode strings, images, stamp or object record IDs, notes or collection contents. This website uses optional Google Analytics only if you accept analytics cookies. See the privacy policy for the full detail.

Is there a premium tier?

The core scan, decode and collection tools are free. Pro is available for collectors who want the additional catalogue detail; the app shows exactly what is included before you opt in.

Where can I get it?

Stamp Decoder is live on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Is this an official Royal Mail product?

No. Modern GB Stamp Decoder is an independent collector tool. Stamp imagery shown on this site is used under licence — we are not affiliated with Royal Mail Group Ltd.

Get StampDecoder.

Download Stamp Decoder from the Apple App Store or Google Play.