Google launches PhotoScan for iOS, Android to turn print into digital photos

Google on Tuesday announced a new PhotoScan app for iOS and Android that will turn old print photos into digital photos, for free.

PhotoScan detects edges, straightens the image, rotates it to the correct orientation, and removes glare, claims Google. Users can simply launch the PhotoScan app and are guided to snap the print photo with four white dots acting as a guide.

Scanned photos can be saved to your phones internal storage, or Google Photos to be organized, searchable, and shared. Google Photos currently offers unlimited photo storage. PhotoScan doesn’t automatically upload to Google Photos.

“We all have those old albums and boxes of photos, but we don’t take the time to digitize them because it’s just too hard to get it right,” Jingyu Cui, software engineer at Google Photos, said. “We don’t want to mail away our original copy, buying a scanner is costly and time consuming, and if you try to take a photo of a photo, you end up with crooked edges and glare.”

The iOS, Android, and web app began rolling out on Tuesday.

The Google Photos team also announced improvements to its app, adding a new and improved auto enhance, twelve new filters, and advanced editing tools.