Scan an Old Photo with Your Phone
Take a picture of the print, and we’ll straighten it and crop away the table. Free, in your browser, nothing uploaded.
Lay it flat by a window and hold the phone straight above it.
Drop image, or click to browseTap to choose a photo
JPG, PNG, HEIC, WEBP (up to 50MB)
Free, no account, no watermark. Your photo stays on your device: nothing is uploaded.
How to take the picture
- Take the photo out of its album sleeve or frame if you can. Plastic and glass reflect.
- Lay it flat on a dark table near a window. A dark surface helps the scanner find the edges.
- Turn the flash off. Daylight from the side is best; a lamp overhead makes glare.
- Hold the phone above the photo so it fills most of the screen, and tilt a little if you see a shine.
- Open the picture here, check the corners, and flatten it.
Then restore it
A straight, tightly cropped photo is the best starting point for repairs, since nothing of the table is left for the restoration to puzzle over. Under the result, “Restore this photo” takes it straight to old photo restoration: tears, scratches and fading repaired, and color added if you like. To print it, the print size chart shows how big it can go.
iPhone pictures that won’t open
The scanner opens iPhone HEIC pictures itself. To turn a batch of them into JPGs for a Windows computer or a website, use the free HEIC to JPG converter.
Questions
How do I scan an old photo with my phone?
Lay the print flat by a window, take a picture of it with the flash off, and open that picture here. The scanner finds the print's corners, or you drag them into place, and turns it into a straight, cropped photo you can save.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. Straightening and cropping happen in your browser and the result is saved straight to your device. Nothing is sent to us unless you choose to restore the photo, which is a separate, paid step.
Is it really free?
Yes: no account, no watermark, no app, no limit on how many photos. Resly AI charges only for restoring and upscaling.
How do I avoid glare on a glossy photo?
Turn the flash off and use daylight from the side, not a lamp overhead. If a shine is still there, tilt the phone a little until it's gone. Shooting at an angle is fine here, because the scanner straightens the photo afterwards.
What if it can't find the corners?
It looks for the print against what it's lying on, so a pale photo on a white table can fool it. Drag the four corners onto the photo yourself; while you drag, a magnified view shows exactly where each corner sits.
Is this as good as a flatbed scanner?
For sharing and restoring, a good phone picture is close. A flatbed at 600 DPI still captures more detail and has no glare, so use one for photos you want to print large, if you have one. Many libraries and print shops will scan photos for you.