Last updated: October 23, 2026
Scani ("we", "our", "the app") is a translation app that reads any photo with text — menus, receipts, signs, documents and more. Your privacy matters to us.
Scani does not collect personal information such as your name, email address, or precise location, and does not require account creation, login, or registration. We do collect anonymous usage data to understand how the app is used and improve it (see Analytics & Usage Data below).
The app accesses your camera and photo library solely to scan images for translation. Photos and the text read from them are sent to Google Gemini through Firebase AI Logic, a Google service. Under Google's paid-service terms, Google does not use this content to improve its products. To make sure requests come from a genuine copy of Scani, the app uses Firebase App Check with Apple's App Attest: a device attestation is exchanged with Apple and Google, and Firebase may create a random installation identifier for this purpose. This does not identify you and is not stored by Scani. If you submit a report, the image and the scan result are sent to our private storage to help improve translation quality.
Scani also uploads the image of every scan — successful, failed or cancelled — to our private storage. Each image is stored under a random file name, without metadata, and linked to the same anonymous identifier as the usage data. Images are kept for up to 12 months, then deleted; they are never shared with third parties and can be deleted earlier on request.
Data received by our Supabase backend (usage data, scan images and scan content) is regularly copied to the developer's private computer and then removed from Supabase; the 12-month limit applies to these copies.
Live Text on the photo you are viewing and speech pronunciation (AVSpeechSynthesizer) run on your device. Reading and translating your scans is done by Google Gemini (see Camera and Photos above).
Scani collects anonymous usage data — such as the number of scans, app launches, onboarding completion, camera permission grants, your ad-consent and tracking choices, which features are used, how long results are viewed, items added to the order list, error codes, the processing cost and duration of each scan, app version, language, and your phone's time zone (such as Asia/Tokyo) — to understand how the app is used and improve it. This data is tied to a random, anonymous identifier generated on your device. It is kept in your device's keychain so that it stays the same if you delete and reinstall Scani; it is not shared with other apps and does not move to a new device. It is not linked to your name, email, or any account (Scani has none) and cannot be used to identify you. This data is stored on our Supabase backend.
At launch, Scani also fetches a small version file from scaniapp.com to check for updates; like any web server, our hosting provider may log your IP address.
To improve translation quality over time, Scani uploads the text read from each scan and the result shown to you (original text, translations, prices) to our private backend, tied to the same anonymous identifier as the usage data. What you scan may itself contain personal information (for example a letter or a receipt). This content is never shared with third parties and is kept for up to 12 months, then deleted.
From menus and receipts, we may extract dish names, their translations, category and description into a shared dish database that helps all Scani users. These entries are detached from any identifier: they contain no device identifier, no date or place of the scan, and no other text from what you scanned. Because they can no longer be linked to you, they may be kept without a time limit and shown to other users.
Scani uses Google AdMob to display ads. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Scani first shows Google's consent form, where you can accept or refuse; you can change your choice at any time in Scani under About › Ad Privacy. Scani then asks, through Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt, whether it may use your device's advertising identifier — unless you refused Google's consent form, in which case it does not ask. Only if you allow it is this identifier shared with AdMob, to show and measure more relevant ads; you can withdraw permission at any time in your iPhone's Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. In all cases, AdMob may still collect limited device information (including an app-vendor identifier that does not identify you across other developers' apps) and usage information (for example to count impressions, limit how often an ad is shown and detect fraud), and ads may be chosen based on context. Per-impression ad revenue values returned by AdMob are also logged alongside the anonymous identifier so we can attribute revenue to scan sessions. This data is handled by Google according to their privacy policy.
Scan history and preferences are stored locally on your device and are deleted when you uninstall the app; only the anonymous identifier described under Analytics & Usage Data remains in the device's keychain.
Scani is developed and operated by Mathias Merlot (Japan), who is responsible for the processing of your data. Contact: scani.app.official@gmail.com.
We process your photos and scans to provide the service you ask for (reading and translating them). Usage data and scan content are processed on the basis of our legitimate interest in improving Scani, and are kept for up to 12 months; only the anonymous dish database described above is kept longer. Advertising is provided by Google AdMob under Google's own terms; where the law requires it, ads use your device information only with your consent, given in Google's consent form.
You can ask to access, correct or delete the data linked to your device, or object to its processing, by writing to the address above. Since Scani has no accounts, tell us roughly when and where you used the app so we can find it. You can also lodge a complaint with the data protection authority of your country.
Google (Gemini, Firebase, AdMob) and Supabase may process data outside your country, including outside the European Union, under their standard contractual safeguards.
Scani is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.
We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected by the "Last updated" date above.
If you have questions about this privacy policy, contact us at: scani.app.official@gmail.com