Local Scan · last updated 16 September 2026
Nowhere. Everything happens on your device and nothing is uploaded — see Privacy for the detail, including the browser rule behind it and how to check for yourself.
Wherever you send them. Everything happens on your device and nothing is uploaded; when you save, iOS asks which app or folder the file goes to. On the way there a copy of the file is written into this app's own cache area, because that is how iOS hands a file to the share sheet, and the app removes that copy once the sheet has finished with it. Nothing else is written. See Privacy for the detail and how to check for yourself.
That is how this version works, and it is deliberate: your captures are held in the page's memory and never written to storage, so no part of your pages is left behind on the machine. Your export settings are kept, and Privacy lists them. Local Scan asks you to confirm before you leave with pages still open. Save your file before closing the tab.
That is how this version works, and it is deliberate: your captures are held in the app's memory and never written to storage, so no part of your pages is left behind on the device. What is kept is your export settings; a file you save passes through this app's cache area on its way to the share sheet and is removed once the sheet is done with it — Privacy covers both. Your pages go when the app closes, so save your file before you leave.
A browser only grants camera access to a page served over https:// or localhost. Beyond that, the most common causes are that permission was declined for this site, or that another app or tab is already using the camera. Local Scan identifies the cause whenever the browser reports one, and importing photos you have already taken works regardless.
The most common cause is that camera permission was declined when it was first requested. You can re-enable it in Settings › Local Scan › Camera. If permission is already granted, another app may still be using the camera. Local Scan identifies the cause whenever iOS reports one, and importing photos you have already taken works regardless.
JPEG and PNG are supported everywhere. Most other common formats, including WebP, GIF and AVIF, open wherever your browser can decode them. HEIC and HEIF, the format iPhones use by default, open only in browsers that support them, which today mainly means Safari on Apple devices. If a file cannot be opened, Local Scan tells you rather than failing silently, and converting it to JPEG first always works.
JPEG and PNG are supported, as are HEIC and HEIF, the format iPhones use by default. Other common formats, including WebP, GIF and AVIF, open wherever iOS can decode them. If a file cannot be opened, Local Scan tells you rather than failing silently.
Document mode is designed for ink on paper. It measures how bright the paper is across the image and raises it to white, so a large, even area such as a clear sky or a block of shading may be interpreted as paper and turned white as well. For anything that is not a printed page, Greyscale or Original will give a truer result.
Balanced suits most scans. Smaller file is appropriate when you only need to read the text. Lossless (PNG) works best with the Document look, since the crisp black-and-white edges it produces are what JPEG compression handles least well.
Page size is a PDF setting. With fit to image, each page adopts the shape of its own picture, so nothing is cropped or padded. Local Scan determines the physical size by treating the picture as a 150 dpi scan, so a page photographed at close range appears close to its actual size. Choose A4 or US Letter instead when the file needs to print on standard paper; each page is then fitted and centred accordingly.
Those formats, along with the Picture + searchable text PDF, require the words from the page rather than an image of them. Local Scan reads them using a text recogniser that runs on your device. The first time you use one, it downloads the recogniser once, roughly 6 MB, from the same source as the page, and works offline thereafter. Your pages are never involved. It reads English in this version and performs best on sharp, upright pages; if a page returns empty, applying the Document look under Adjust page usually helps.
Those formats, along with the Picture + searchable text PDF, require the words from the page rather than an image of them. Local Scan reads them using a text recogniser that runs on your device, roughly 13 MB, installed with the app. Nothing is downloaded, and your pages never leave. It reads English in this version and performs best on sharp, upright pages; if a page returns empty, applying the Document look under Adjust page usually helps.
It is the same page image, with the recognised words placed beneath it. They are invisible, but you can select, copy and search them in your reader. They generally align with the printed words, close enough to highlight; where a page returns no positions, the words remain searchable, though not beneath their own characters. Recognition is never perfect, so it is best treated as a reliable way to search rather than an exact transcript.
Not in the browser. Everything on this site is free, the text formats included. In the iPhone and iPad app, five features that read the words from your pages make up Local Scan Pro: Word, Text, Markdown, Copy the text, and the Picture + searchable text PDF. Pro is a one-time $12.99 purchase through the App Store. The scanner itself remains free: capture a page, set its corners, straighten and brighten it, and save it, with no limit and no watermark.
The scanner is free: capture a page, set its corners, straighten and brighten it, and save it, with no limit and no watermark. Five features that read the words from your pages make up Local Scan Pro: Word, Text, Markdown, Copy the text, and the Picture + searchable text PDF. Pro is a one-time $12.99 purchase. The App Store displays the price in your own currency, and the exact amount, before you confirm.
Pro is available only in the iPhone and iPad app, and belongs to the Apple Account that purchased it. On a new device, or after reinstalling, open Unlock Pro and choose Restore purchases while signed in with that same Apple Account. There is nothing to save and nothing to enter.
Pro belongs to the Apple Account that purchased it. On a new iPhone or iPad, or after reinstalling, tap Unlock Pro and choose Restore purchases. If it is not found, you are most likely signed in with a different Apple Account; check which one you are using in Settings, then try again.
Refunds for purchases made through the App Store, including Local Scan Pro, are handled by Apple, so we are unable to process one directly. You can request one from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com, signed in with the Apple Account that made the purchase.
Yes. Once the page has loaded, it continues to work with no connection, including the camera, processing and saving. The only exception is the text recogniser behind Word, Text, Markdown and searchable PDF, which loads once while you are online and then works offline as well.
Yes, from the outset. Everything the app requires comes with it, the text recogniser included, so capture, processing, reading and saving all work in Airplane Mode. Pro also works offline after it is unlocked. The only step that requires a connection is purchasing or restoring it, as that part is handled by Apple.
Yes. Tab moves through every control. On a corner handle, the arrow keys adjust its position, and holding Shift moves it further. The up and down buttons on each page row reorder pages without dragging.
Write to support@edenapps.app and describe what happened, including which browser and device you were using.
Write to support@edenapps.app and describe what happened, including which iPhone or iPad you were using and which version of iOS.