Google launches PhotoScan app for scanning printed photographs

Bringing old memories to life, Google has announced a new 'PhotoScan' app that has been designed to scan and digitise old printed photos. The app detects edges, straightens the image, rotates it to the correct orientation, and removes glare.

Easy to use, the app needs permission to access the camera when launched for the first time. After launching the app, the app will ask you to take the image of the printed photograph. Four circles will appear on the corner of the photograph and the app will ask you to move the camera from one circle to another. The final image is then stored.

Once the image is captured, the app allows some basic editing including adjusting of corners or rotation of the image. Once done, the photos will be saved in the camera roll and can be viewed in the Google Photos app as well (if installed on the phone). The image can be further edited in the default editor within the camera roll/photo app, using Google Photos or any third party app such as Snapseed as well.

The statement issued by Google states, " We all have those old albums and boxes of photos that are some of our most treasured memories. Such as photos of grandma when she was young, or of your childhood pet, and even that hairstyle you wish you could forget. But we just keep thinking about scanning the photos to preserve these moments, but never really get around to it. Google PhotoScan easily scans just about any photo, from anywhere."

Free to download, the PhotoScan app is already available to download on both the Apple iPhone and Android smartphones.