Card scanning

What it does

Card scanning helps you take photos of cards and IDs. Spoken instructions guide you step by step to adjust your phone. Once the card is lined up, you are asked to hold steady, and a photo is taken automatically, cropped, and saved to Photos. The whole process works offline, and photos aren't uploaded to a server, protecting your privacy. To recognize and read the card's contents, turn on the online “Describe card” option.

When to use it

Use Card scanning when you need to photograph a card or ID to send to someone or upload to another app for verification. For a bank card, business card, or membership card, turn on “Describe card” if you also want to know what it says as you take the photo.

How to use it

Place the card flat on a stable surface, such as a table, then point the camera toward it. Tap “Tap to start detection” in the middle of the screen. The phone gives spoken instructions based on the camera view, such as “Move left,” “Move right,” “Move closer,” “Move back,” or “Hold steady.” Move the phone slowly as directed and listen for the next instruction. When you hear “Hold steady,” keep the phone as still as possible. Once the card is correctly positioned and stable, the phone takes the photo automatically. You do not need to press a shutter button. Vibration and a sound confirm that the photo has been taken.

All instructions tell you how to move the phone; you do not need to move the card. Before starting, place the card on a reasonably clear table rather than holding it in your hand. “Move left” means moving the phone a little to the left. “Move back” means moving it farther from the card. “Move up” means moving it in the direction that the top of the phone is pointing.

“Move closer” and “Move back” mean moving the phone toward or away from the card. “Tilt top forward” means tilting the top of the phone toward the card.

Supported cards and documents include identity cards, driver's licenses, passports, bank cards, membership cards, business cards, health insurance cards, and social security cards.

“Describe card” is off by default. When it is off, photos are saved only on your phone and in the app's chat history, and are not sent to a server. When you turn it on, the app first tells you that card images will be uploaded. Only photos taken after you confirm by tapping “Enable” will be sent for description. The app remembers this choice, so you do not need to turn it on every time.

After a photo is taken:

The phone automatically crops the area around the card and straightens it. Cards photographed vertically are also rotated to the correct orientation.
The cropped image is saved to Photos. Both the original and cropped images are saved in the app's chat history so you can find or send them later.
If “Describe card” is off, the phone announces that the image has been saved to Photos.
If “Describe card” is on, the phone uploads the cropped image, recognizes the information on the card, and reads it aloud.
Open the Chat tab at the bottom of the app to view the original and cropped images. If “Describe card” is on, you can also view or copy the recognized text and ask more questions about the photo.

Taking and saving photos works offline. With “Describe card” off, the entire capture and save process makes no requests to the server. If descriptions are enabled but there is no internet connection when the photo is taken, it is still saved to Photos and Chat. The phone tells you that it cannot recognize the card information for now. Once the connection is restored, find the photo in Chat and ask about it again.