# Scan Thing: Scan Anything

> Mobile scanner for objects, documents, text, and art with PDF export. (iPhone/iPad app by Block, Inc..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scan-thing-scan-anything/id1542730895 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Block, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/335393791)
- Category: Productivity, Utilities
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.40/5 from 215 App Store ratings · 90 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 14.1 · 212 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2020-12-31
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scan-thing-scan-anything/id1542730895/reviews.md

## What is Scan Thing?

Scan anything: objects, people, animals, plants, books, documents, text, and art. Scan Thing is the quickest and easiest way to capture and save anything around you.

Capture books and documents with the original images intact and the text embedded. Save your scan as a single- or multi-page PDF with all its text fully searchable and selectable.

Just the text? Frame a page, a document, a sign, or a receipt. Tap to extract the text. Tap again to copy it to the clipboard.

Export is easy. Share via Airdrop or text. Save to your photo library or a folder of your choice. Or copy your scan to other apps.

No nonsense. Just the app. You don't need an account to use Scan Thing. You don't need internet access. Your scans never leave your device and all processing happens on your device. Because your privacy is important (not to mention none of our business), we collect no data whatsoever and we don't use any third-party code. Your privacy is yours, and we think it should stay that way.

A one-time in-app purchase. No subscriptions. No adds. No shenanigans. You can try Scan Thing for free, and, when you're ready, you can unlock unlimited scans with one payment.

## Key features

- Scan objects, people, animals, plants, books, documents, text, and art
- Capture books and documents with original images and embedded text
- Create searchable and selectable single- or multi-page PDFs
- Extract and copy text from scanned items
- Share scans via Airdrop, text, or save to photo library/folders
- Offline processing and no account required

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Scans | $4.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Scan Thing?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🚀 Excellent object scanning
- 🔒 No data collection
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and accurate scanning
- 💡 Innovative features
- 👍 Affordable one-time payment

**Cons**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🐛 Inconsistent document scanning quality
- 👎 Limited free scans before paid unlock
- 🐛 Difficulty selecting scan type

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Crashes on first or second scan for some users
- Scan icon spinning or freezing
- Inability to save scans properly

**Most requested features**

- Ability to customize file naming and save locations
- Shortcuts integration
- Bluetooth remote control support
- Ability to manually adjust scans and cropping

## Recent user reviews (10 of 90)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scan-thing-scan-anything/id1542730895/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Excellent

*2024-04-30*

I do a lot of small product photography this app is great just pop the item on any background and it removes the surrounding image leaving a clean image, occasional freeze up and now and then I do need to move position as not all the image is there but those are minor issues. I have not tried the text option yet. Update:- Still a good app but buggy, often I’ll press scan object and the icon in the centre just keeps spinning constantly or freezes i have to close the app then re-start this happens often. I have reported the bug but no response from developer. Update - The scan thing is buggy it will often just whirr around do nothing the app is ok when working but I spend more time closing it reopening it, sadly support do not respond I’m downgrading review to don’t buy it. 3 years and no updates to fix the issues no response to emails the developer isn’t bothered. Don’t bother getting this app.

### 3/5 — 5 stars until 3 days ago

*2024-04-16*

This app has literally been the photographer behind my Ecom business for years until it started crashing on open about three days ago. It wasn’t until I went to the App Store to check to see if I just needed to update the app that I realized this hasn’t been updated in 3 years… yet it’s owned by Weebly so I can’t imagine this is actual abandonware? 

It’s been worth every penny and would happily pay for another in-app purchase just to have someone fix whatever’s causing the crash - is anyone out there?  Really wish I could tag or @ weebly atm but alas hoping someone reads this

### 5/5 — Best scanner so far

*2023-05-11*

Scanner apps were amongst my first purchases on buying iPads when they were first released.  The apps - even now - range from adequate to embarrassing.  If you want ultimate control of scans - and the increase in time required for even the simplest scan - then look elsewhere.

However, I have never owned an app that scans more accurately and the speed, particularly for multi-page documents, is second to none.  I use Scan Thing because it is reliable and efficient.  It’s automatic processing beats what I manage in other, more complex, scanning apps 99% of the time and the finished PDF requires no separate compression, this is also handled automatically.

If you need to adapt for severe page distortion, then you may need a second app, otherwise Scan Thing just quietly gets on with producing top rate scans quickly and effectively.  Having tried well over 20 apps over the years, this is my favourite scanner app.

### 4/5 — Terrific App!

*2023-01-13*

Fabulous app! However I wish it didn’t require you pay after a certain amounts of scans

### 5/5 — I do all my scanning with it

*2022-12-24, version 2021.1.1.1*

Often have to email receipts or copies of documents, scan things perfectly serves this purpose.

### 5/5 — Simple!

*2022-12-11*

But works just great. Forget messing with Photoshop for simple object scans as this does a superb job.

### 3/5 — I would love to love this

*2022-09-07, version 2021.1.1.1*

But photos scan with contrast way too high, it crashes sometimes when I tap to take a shot, there is  o photo scan setting only objects, people or text, and I cannot tell it where to save photos. It moves them somewhere.  The o c r is great.

### 3/5 — Can’t recommend without fixes

*2022-08-02, version 2021.1.1.1*

While it does a good job when you’ve got it set correctly I can’t recommend and won’t purchase without two fixes:

One you can’t default to scanning documents.  I see no way to change it and it always defaults to objects. Can’t find a way to default the save folder either. 

Most importantly though adjusting the scan and or crop is impossible. They display the magnified view of what you are adjusting under your finger instead of offset like every other scan app I’ve used. Perhaps they need to look at others for inspiration. I can never see what I’m cropping and it is necessary frequently so I just won’t use it at all. 

It is however fast and seems accurate but the friction in daily use is just too much for me.

### 4/5 — A little manual control would be nice

*2022-07-11*

This app is nearly very good at clipping objects on the fly or from photos, except it often leaves a bit behind, the cause, simply because the missing piece is tonally different to the rest of the object. The app also does the opposite and ads pieces that are not part of the object because it buts up against and is tonally the same as the object. I feel that a little bit of manual control of the clipping process would be a great help to an otherwise excellent app. It’s not always possible to have the object surrounded with a neutral background. Something to think about for a fourth coming update perhaps.

### 5/5 — Great app

*2022-07-11, version 2021.1.1.1*

I use this app for work, for fun, and a side gig. I just wish there was an option to add a background. It’s not a big deal, and maybe I’m missing it somewhere. For the price you can’t get everything included separately or in a single app that I have found. Just the text scan alone is a time saver for me. I’ve tested others and they usually miss text in books, I’ve only had that problem once in this app and it was probably user error anyway.

## Frequently asked questions about Scan Thing

### What can I scan with Scan Thing?

You can scan a wide variety of items including objects, people, animals, plants, books, documents, text, and art. The app is designed to capture anything around you.

### How does text extraction work?

Simply frame the text you want to capture, tap to extract it, and tap again to copy it to your clipboard. This feature allows for quick and easy retrieval of text from documents, signs, receipts, and more.

### What are the export options?

Scans can be exported in various ways. You can share them via Airdrop or text, save them directly to your photo library or a chosen folder, or copy them to other applications.

### Is Scan Thing free to use?

The app offers a free trial period. To unlock unlimited scans and remove any limitations, a one-time in-app purchase is required. There are no subscriptions or ads.

### Does Scan Thing require an internet connection or an account?

No, Scan Thing is designed to be used offline and does not require an account. All processing happens directly on your device, ensuring your privacy as no data is collected or shared.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2021.1.1.1 — 2021-03-27

Fixed a crashing bug that occurred on some devices when initiating an object scan.

### 2021.1.1 — 2021-03-16

Library Mode Enhancements:
- Support for opening multiple images from your photo library.
- Support for opening PDF documents or "photo documents".
- Support for scanning multiple photo-library images, extracting the text, and creating a PDF document.

Zoom Support for the Library and Files modes: 
- You can now toggle pinch-to-zoom on and off when viewing an image opened from your photo library or files. 
- You can also choose to have zooming enabled by default (see Settings -> Library and Files Mode Settings -> Zoom Enabled By Default). 
- Note: when zoom is enabled by default, drawing the selection rectangle requires a slightly longer press.

Quick Actions: 
A long press on the app icon will produce a menu of quick actions (Scan an Object, Scan Text, or Scan a Document).

Share Extension:
- You can now send an image, a PDF document, or a URL (that points to an image or document) directly to Scan Thing. 
- In Safari, long press an image, choose "Share", and select "Scan Thing". 
- Everywhere else, tap the "Share" button or long press the image or document.
- Note: if you don't see "Scan Thing" among the extensions in your share sheet, swipe over to the right, select "More", select "Edit", and move "Scan Thing" further up your list of supported extensions.

### 2021.1.0.9 — 2021-02-11

New features:
- By popular request, three brand-new icons.

Bug fixes:
- A bug that caused pages scanned in the landscape orientation on iPhones to lose their aspect ratio is no more.

### 2021.1.0.8 — 2021-02-09

New Features: 
- Added support for the front-facing camera. You can now extract the background from selfies. 
- Added flash support.

### 2021.1.0.7 — 2021-02-02

Fixed:
- An issue where saved images appeared smaller than they should have.
- Scanned objects now rotate correctly on iPhones.

New Features:
- Auto-cropping of transparent pixels. This setting is off by default and can be found under Settings > Image Export Settings.
- After selecting an image from your photo library or files, you can toggle between object and text mode, and drag to select the portion of the image you want to scan. (Note that opening PDF documents for text extraction will be supported in the next release.)
- Dragging and dropping an image on iPads now also offers you the ability to choose your scanning mode and select the portion of the image you want to scan.

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## More apps by Block, Inc.

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All apps by Block, Inc.: https://appshunter.io/developer/335393791

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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 2026-06-10.*