# LAI - Look at it — Fast, private photo culling

> Fast, private photo culling (iPhone/iPad app by Rafal Wojtowicz.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lai-look-at-it/id6788420720 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Rafal Wojtowicz](https://appshunter.io/developer/6788420722)
- Category: Photo & Video, Productivity
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 6 MB
- Languages: American English, Polish
- Released: 2026-07-14
- Data updated: 2026-08-30
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lai-look-at-it/id6788420720/reviews.md

## What is LAI?

LAI is a fast, distraction-free photo culling app for photographers. Built for iPhone, iPad and Mac, it gives you everything you need to review, rate, and organize your shots — no AI, no algorithms, and your photo files never leave your devices.

Review the way you think
Open any local folder and start reviewing immediately. Swipe left/right to move between photos, rate with stars, reject with a key press, and assign color labels (red, yellow, green, blue, purple).

Organize with Groups
Select photos and add them to groups to separate hero shots from alternatives. Filter the grid by group to focus on what matters.

EXIF when you need it
Open the EXIF panel to see camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO next to your photo — without leaving the review view.

Compare and decide
Select 2 photos to compare side by side with synchronized pan and zoom. Pick the winner with confidence.

Private by design
LAI reads only the folders you pick with the system file picker. Nothing is ever sent to the developer, and there is no analytics or tracking of any kind.

Your photo files stay on your devices — image data is never uploaded. If you turn on iCloud sync, LAI syncs your culling work through your own private iCloud container so it follows you between iPhone, iPad and Mac: ratings, rejections, color labels, groups and culling progress, together with the catalog entries that identify each photo (folder and file names, each photo's path relative to the folder you picked, capture dates, camera and lens details, dimensions and file sizes). Everything stays inside your private iCloud database — the developer cannot access it. Folder access permissions are never synced; you grant them separately on each device.

You can leave iCloud sync off, and LAI works fully offline.

Built for speed
- Keyboard shortcuts: 1–5 stars, R reject, 6–9 color labels (Shift+9 purple), arrow keys to navigate, I for EXIF
- Apple Pencil double-tap to toggle reject
- Fast masonry grid with a 4-level thumbnail pipeline
- RAW+JPEG pairs treated as a single photo

Deleting rejected photos always moves files to the system Trash — never a silent permanent delete.

Formats
- RAW: every RAW format your iPhone, iPad or Mac can read — including ARW, CR2, CR3, NEF, DNG, RW2, ORF, RAF and PEF
- JPEG, HEIC, PNG

LAI is your culling companion — fast, focused, and private.


## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.5 — 2026-08-21

New
- Statistics: see the focal lengths you actually shoot — your top three across the whole library, plus a per-camera breakdown for any folder.
- Redesigned info panel: camera, lens, ISO, focal length with 35mm equivalent, aperture, shutter speed and capture date, in cards next to your photo.
- Resume: LAI remembers the frame you stopped on and takes you straight back to it — and it follows you between devices.
- Undo the last decision with a single key or button, so a mis-tap never costs you a rating.
- Filter by star rating with comparison operators, and by capture-date range. Turn a date range straight into a group.
- Auto-advance after rating, if you want it — the fastest way to cull.
- Every RAW format your device can read is now recognized, not just a fixed list. Fujifilm RAF, Pentax PEF, Hasselblad, Phase One and more now import.
- A unified sidebar with Folders and Filters in one place, at a steady width that no longer shifts your photos.
- On Mac: right-click a photo for the actions you expect. On every platform: a richer folder menu with open, reveal, reconnect and unpin.

Better
- Much faster on large shoots. Browsing, rating and opening folders no longer stall while the library is read.
- Folder access is now per device by design, and one parent-folder pick can restore access to many folders at once.
- Your culling work is protected by a verified backup that restores automatically if the library ever fails to open.
- Duplicate collections created by sync can be merged, with a preview of exactly what will be joined.
- Network and external drives report clearly when they are unavailable, instead of failing quietly.
- Accessibility throughout: larger hit targets, VoiceOver labels, Dynamic Type and Reduce Motion support.
- Review now moves through exactly the photos your filters show, not the whole folder.

### 1.0 — 2026-07-14

No release notes.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-30.*