Is Google PhotoScan Still Available? Facts for 2026
Yes, Google PhotoScan is still available. As of October 2026 the app is listed in the App Store (version 1.7) and in Google Play (over 50 million downloads), and you can install it on a current phone. What has stopped is development: the last iOS update was on November 21, 2022, the last Android update on July 24, 2023. Google has not announced a discontinuation, even though several blogs describe the app as "discontinued".
The facts, checked in October 2026
The full name of the app is "PhotoScan by Google Photos", and the seller is Google LLC. Here is what the two store pages show.
| App Store (iPhone) | Google Play (Android) | |
|---|---|---|
| Listed and installable | Yes | Yes |
| Current version | 1.7 | not shown |
| Last update | November 21, 2022 | July 24, 2023 |
| Requirement | iOS 15.0 or later | not shown on the page |
| Downloads | not shown | 50M+ |
| Price | free, no in-app purchases listed | free, no in-app purchases listed |
| Source | apps.apple.com, id1165525994 | play.google.com, com.google.android.apps.photos.scanner |
Both pages were opened on October 19, 2026. "Free" here means the full app costs nothing; for comparison, the paid apps in the table further down cost 9.99 USD once or 59.99 USD per year (as of October 2026).
Has Google discontinued PhotoScan?
Not officially. We found no announcement from Google that PhotoScan has been shut down, removed or replaced. The store pages are live and the app still opens. What some websites report as "discontinued" is, as far as the public record shows, a long pause in updates: more than three years on iPhone and more than three years on Android, counted from October 2026.
That pause is a fact, and it is the reason the question comes up so often. An app that receives no updates is not adjusted to new camera hardware, new screen sizes or new versions of iOS and Android. Whether it works on your specific phone is something you can only find out by installing it, since nobody is publishing test results per device. We are not aware of documented errors on current phones, and this article does not claim any.
What Google PhotoScan does
PhotoScan is built for single prints. You point the camera at one photo, the app shows four dots, and you move the phone over each dot. It combines these frames into one image and removes most of the glare that a glossy print reflects. The result is saved to your phone, and from there you can add it to Google Photos.
Things that PhotoScan does well, based on how the app is designed:
- One print at a time, including framed photos behind glass.
- Glare reduction through the four-frame method.
- Automatic cropping and perspective correction of the single print.
- No account needed, no cost.
What PhotoScan does not do
The main limit is the album page. PhotoScan has no function to recognize several photos on one page and save them as separate files. If an album page holds four prints, you either scan each print four times with the four-dot method, or you photograph the whole page and crop by hand afterwards. For a shoebox of loose prints that is fine. For twenty albums with four to six photos per page, the arithmetic turns against you: a 40-page album with five photos per page means 200 separate scans, each with four frames.
PhotoScan also has no album structure, no captions and no sharing of a set of photos as a group. It is a scanner, and sorting happens in Google Photos or wherever you keep the files.
What to expect on a new phone
Only two things can be said with evidence. First, the app installs on current iOS and Android versions, since both store pages are live and list no incompatibility. Second, because there have been no updates since 2022 and 2023, the app has not been adapted to the cameras of phones released after those dates. Modern phones with several lenses, higher resolutions and new image processing did not exist when version 1.7 was built.
What follows from that is a test, not a verdict: install PhotoScan, scan three prints, and look at the results on a large screen. If they are sharp and the glare is gone, the app does the job for single prints. If you scan album pages, the limit from the previous section applies regardless of how new your phone is.
Three alternatives for album pages
If you want to keep using PhotoScan for loose prints, there is no reason to stop. The alternatives below are relevant when the task is whole album pages, because that is what PhotoScan does not cover. All three recognize several photos on one page and save them separately. The order is alphabetical, not a ranking.
| Albumbox | Photomyne (Photo Scan App by Photomyne) | Pic Scanner Gold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | iPhone and Android | iPhone and Android | iPhone and iPad only |
| Several photos per page | Yes, up to six per shot | Yes; Photomyne's own article recommends two to three per shot | Yes, whole album page |
| Cost model | Scanning, viewing, labeling and sharing an album link at no charge; Plus 39.99 USD per year or 79.99 USD once for three years | Subscription; website footer shows 59.99 USD per year after a 3-day trial | One-time purchase 9.99 USD |
| What the paid part adds | Several photos at once, whole album to Photos app, ZIP and PDF export | According to Photomyne's article "Is Photomyne Free?" (August 2026): unlimited saving and sharing, other devices, website access, cloud backup | No in-app purchases |
| Last update | Google Play and App Store live since October 2026 | Version 35.6, updated October 2026 | Version 6.50 |
| Source | albumbox.app, Google Play, checked October 2026 | apps.apple.com id1037784828 and photomyne.com, checked October 2026 | apps.apple.com id1124131441, checked October 2026 |
Prices as of October 2026. For a closer look at how the two most downloaded options compare in practice, read the side-by-side of Photomyne, Google PhotoScan and Albumbox. A broader list, including document scanners and scanning services, is in the overview of photo scanning apps.
A note on Albumbox, since it is our own app and the same standards apply: it photographs the whole page, detects each photo, crops and straightens it, and improves contrast and colors. Scanning needs no account. Scans stay in the app after Plus ends, and nothing is removed, downsized or watermarked. Restoring scratches or colorizing black and white photos runs on credits (25 credits for 4.99 USD, as of October 2026; three credits are included at the start). Current prices are on the Albumbox pricing page.
Which one, in short
For loose prints and framed photos: Google PhotoScan still works and costs nothing, with the caveat that it has not been updated since 2022 (iOS) or 2023 (Android). For album pages on an iPhone with no subscription: Pic Scanner Gold at 9.99 USD once. For album pages with cloud backup across devices: Photomyne at 59.99 USD per year. For album pages on iPhone or Android with labeling and a share link, and export when needed: Albumbox, with Plus at 39.99 USD per year or 79.99 USD once for three years. All prices as of October 2026. If you are weighing the subscription options against each other, the list of alternatives to Photomyne goes into more detail.
Is Google PhotoScan still the best free option?
For a few loose prints, PhotoScan is still a sound free choice: it costs nothing, has no in-app purchases and removes glare by combining four shots of the same print. Its limits show as soon as you have albums. It takes one print per shot, cannot split an album page into separate photos, saves JPEG files that you share through Google Photos, and has had no meaningful updates since 2022 (iOS) and 2023 (Android).
| What you want to scan | Free option | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| A few loose prints | Google PhotoScan | One print per shot, no updates since 2023 |
| Whole album pages | Albumbox, scanning without charge | Saving whole albums and sharing a link need Plus, 39.99 USD per year |
| Albums on an iPhone, one payment | Pic Scanner Gold | Not free: 9.99 USD once, iPhone and iPad only |
Prices as of October and November 2026. In Albumbox, scanning, viewing and labeling cost nothing, and single photos can be saved without charge; Photomyne and Pic Scanner Gold also detect several photos per shot. The comparison of photo scanning apps in 2026 sets out all five apps side by side, and the step-by-step guide on digitizing a whole photo album without removing photos shows the page-by-page method.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google PhotoScan discontinued?
There is no official discontinuation from Google that we could find. The app is still in the App Store and Google Play as of October 2026. The last updates were November 2022 (iOS) and July 2023 (Android), which is why some blogs call it discontinued.
Is Google PhotoScan free?
Yes. Both store pages list the app without a price and without in-app purchases (checked October 2026). You do not need a Google account to scan; an account is only needed if you back up the results to Google Photos.
Is Google PhotoScan still the best free option?
For single loose prints it still works well and costs nothing. For album pages it is slow, because it takes one print per shot and has had no updates since 2023. Apps that detect several photos per page, such as Albumbox, scan whole pages without charge; saving whole albums needs Plus at 39.99 USD per year (as of November 2026).
Can Google PhotoScan scan a whole album page?
No. PhotoScan is designed for one print at a time using the four-dot method. It does not split an album page into separate photos. For that task you need an app with photo detection, such as the three in the table above.
Does PhotoScan work on the latest iPhone or Android phone?
It installs, since the store pages are live and require iOS 15 or later. Because the app has had no updates since 2022 and 2023, it has not been adapted to newer camera hardware. The reliable way to find out is to install it and scan a few prints.
What is the difference between PhotoScan and Google Photos?
PhotoScan is a small separate app that captures prints with the camera. Google Photos is the library where photos are stored, organized and backed up. PhotoScan sends its results to Google Photos if you choose to; it does not store anything itself.
If you have an album to digitize this weekend, install one of the album-page apps above and test it on a single page before you commit to the whole shelf.
Photomyne is a trademark of Photomyne Ltd., PhotoScan by Google Photos a trademark of Google LLC, Pic Scanner Gold and MyHeritage Reimagine trademarks of their respective owners. Prices and features as of October 2026, sources: App Store, Google Play, provider websites.
