Tide Q vs Private Scan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tide Q
Quickly scan 1D and 2D barcodes with high recognition and speed. This tool automatically saves your scan history and offers features like flashlight support and map previews for GPS QR codes. It's designed for intuitive use, allowing you to perform actions like opening websites or adding contacts directly from scanned codes.
- High-quality barcode recognition
- Fastest barcode scanning speed
- Instant scanning upon launch
- Automatic scan history saving
- Flashlight support
- Map thumbnail for GPS QR codes
- Intuitive user interface
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Tide Q Scanner has finally come at last after our TideQ+ QR Code generator! Funny and lovely TideQ bear can help you to scan 1D and 2D barcodes. Especially no POP-UP Ads! This powerful and useful tool app should be installed on every mobile devices! Supported Barcode Formats: (Compatible with all common 1D, 2D barcodes) ‧QR Code, PDF417, UPCE, Code39, Code39Mod43, EAN13, EAN8, Code93, Code128, Aztec Code, Itf14 Code,Data Matrix ,InterLeaved2of5. Tide Q Scanner: It's easy to use! Step 1: Scanning mode will be activated after launch the App Step 2: Barcodes are recognizable under camera shot automatically Step 3: App returns the result after the barcodes can be recognized. TideQ Scanner Features: ‧Quality Scanning: High Recognition. ‧Speed: Fastest Barcode Scanning. ‧Instant: Scanner will be active after launch app. ‧Automatically Save: History of scanned barcodes. ‧Flashlight: Allow your device to switch flashlight. ‧Map Thumbnail: Drop a pin in map preview after scan GPS QR code. ‧Intuitive User Interface: The easiest way to scan barcodes. ‧Barcodes Types Toggle: Allow user to decide which barcodes can be recognized. After scanning QR Codes that you can do…: ‧Make a phone call. ‧Send text messages. ‧Open websites. ‧Add contact. ‧Navigation. ‧Send email. ‧Add Skype user. ‧Search strings/texts in Google. ‧Add events to calendar. TideQ bear looks forward to seeing you! Let’s see you in TideQ Scanner App! QR Code is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.
Private Scan
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PrivateScan turns paper into clean, searchable PDFs entirely on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. No accounts, no cloud processing, no tracking, no subscription. THE PRIVATE ONE Most scanner apps send your documents to servers for processing. PrivateScan never does. Scanning, filters, text recognition, and even AI naming all run on your device using Apple frameworks and an optional on-device model. The app keeps your documents, their names, and their text on your device unless you send them. It does send anonymous usage and crash reports so we can fix crashes and improve it; they never include your documents, their names, their text or their images, and you can turn them off in Settings > Privacy. SCAN ANYTHING Point the camera at a page and PrivateScan finds the edges, straightens the result, and cleans it up. Scan books as open spreads and split them into facing pages, capture whiteboards without glare, compose ID cards and passports onto a single page (free, while others charge for this), and import photos or PDFs. Keep everything organized in folders with color labels. SIGN AND EDIT Draw a signature once and place it on any page. Reorder, split, and combine documents. Rescue bad lighting with enhance, black & white, grayscale, and whiteboard filters. FIND ANY DOCUMENT Search reads every scanned word, so a receipt, a contract, or a letter is one search away. Premium unlocks text recognition that runs on your device, even offline, and smart naming with a small on-device AI model (a one-time 1.8 GB download) that titles each scan for you, so receipts stop being called "Scan 47". Translate extracted text without it leaving your phone. EXPORT ANY WAY YOU WORK PDF, JPG, PNG, Word, Excel, TXT, and RTF, with file size presets, your own watermark, and password protected PDFs. Word and Excel exports build real .docx and .xlsx files entirely on your device, so even your editable documents never touch a server. Excel export finds the tables in a scan and turns them into rows and columns you can edit. Excel export requires iOS 26. LOCK IT DOWN Turn on the app lock and PrivateScan requires Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode every time it opens. Files are protected with iOS data protection so they stay encrypted while your device is locked. A privacy shield hides your documents in the app switcher. YOUR DEVICES, YOUR CLOUD iCloud sync is off by default. Turn it on and your documents sync through your own private iCloud, protected by your Apple Account. We run no servers and could not read your documents if we wanted to. ONE PRICE, FOREVER Scanning is free. A single purchase unlocks premium: text extraction, AI smart naming, Word and Excel export, password protected PDFs, exports without watermarks, and no limits on pages or exports. No subscription. Buy it once, own it forever, share it with your family through Family Sharing. Your documents stay on your device. The privacy policy says exactly what the anonymous reports carry and how to turn them off: https://freedom-terminal.com/privatescan/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tide Q at none against Private Scan's 1. Tide Q also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). Private Scan's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Private Scan sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Tide Q asks for nothing beyond the download.
Tide Q ships an update every 5 weeks, Private Scan every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tide Q | Private Scan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 95.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | InGee Information Co., Ltd. | Vishut Dhar |
In-app purchases
Tide Q
No in-app purchases
Private Scan
- PrivateScan Premium$9.99









