Tiny Scanner
Tiny Scanner is praised for its ease of use and effective document scanning, but recent updates have introduced significant issues with subscription models, paywalls for previously free features, and app instability, leading to widespread user frustration.
Tiny Scanner is a mobile application designed for scanning documents, converting them to PDF, and sharing them. While many long-term users appreciate its convenience and scanning quality, recent updates have shifted many core functionalities behind a subscription paywall, causing significant dissatisfaction among its user base.
What users like
What users complain about
- Many previously free features, especially sharing and emailing documents, are now behind a mandatory subscription paywall.R97R142R194R290
- Users who previously paid for the app or specific features are now being asked to pay again via subscription, leading to feelings of being scammed.R33R97R290R340
- The app frequently crashes, freezes, or fails to open, especially after updates or when scanning multiple pages.R56R169R184R422
- Issues with document processing include garbled conversions (PDF to Word), inaccurate border detection, and inability to send multi-page documents as a single file.R24R172R252R304
- Some users report losing all their scanned files after app updates.R116R244
- Poor customer service and difficulties restoring subscriptions or resolving billing issues.R39R155R583R653
- Intrusive ads, some disguised as UI elements, and constant prompts to upgrade detract from the user experience.R84R168R337R620
- Problems with sharing scanned documents, including inability to attach to emails or transfer to other apps.R142R623R629R643
Latest update · v8.16.4
What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):
Thanks for choosing Tiny Scanner! Here’s what’s new in this version: ----- Bug fixes and merge PDF files for easier sharing. ----- We love hearing from you! Please share your reviews to help us make it better. Contact us at [email protected]
Recurring themes
Who it's for
Tiny Scanner is for users who need a quick and easy way to scan documents with their phone and prioritize high-quality scans R4R11. It was previously ideal for those needing to email or share documents frequently R13R16, but this functionality is now largely paywalled. It is NOT for users unwilling to pay a recurring subscription fee for basic features R142R453R611, or those who require stable performance without crashes or data loss R56R116R422.
Evidence note: The recent reviews skew heavily negative, primarily due to the introduction of a subscription model and associated bugs. While the lifetime rating is high, it reflects the app's past performance before these significant changes. The positive points are mostly from long-term users who still appreciate the core scanning functionality, often lamenting the recent changes.
Frequently asked
Is Tiny Scanner still free to use?
What happened to features I previously paid for?
Does Tiny Scanner have issues with crashing or losing files?
What reviewers actually said
Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.
- [R1] Very convenient app: Good performance
- [R3] Tiny Scanner: I LOVE this app. I’ve been using it for years and it is so easy to send documents with it.
- [R4] Great scans with a simple touch.: Easy, always great clarity & contrast in documents. Go to solution for scanning.
- [R5] Excellent product!: The efficiency and ease of use, are impressive
- [R11] Awesome App: I do extensive travel and have used this app all the time. Easy to use and great scanning clarity. A must have app.
- [R14] Great Scanning App: This scanning app has been great. It is inexpensive, but has a full suite of editing tools to perfect a scan.
- [R17] Great app! Use it all the time!: Used this app multiple times with now problems getting clear scan and documents sent where they need to go!
- [R2] Best work app!: I use this app for storing all my important files on the go. Very useful for my Real Estate business!
- [R13] Does exactly what I need: I primarily use it to snap receipts on the go and instantly email to my expense software at the same time. Fills in that gap for me beautifully. I’ve been using it for years.
- [R16] LOVEEE it!!: It’s super easy and quick to scan documents (even multiple pages) and send to different recipients. It’s also very simple to delete documents once you have scanned it in. It’s a very useful tool and I use it often so I get my monies worth.
- [R22] Love it: Easy to use; quick, exactly what I need for expenses Easy to organize receipts.
- [R97] Terrible app: Initially bought it few years ago and now with the subscription model it sucks…don’t buy waste of money and time
- [R142] Great but…: I’ve used the app for years, and it has been great! However, you now have to pay to email yourself the PDFs. I use it to submit receipts for work, and my work isn’t paying for the app, so, unfortunately, I will be finding another app to use going forward. To the devs, it is not free, if you have to pay.
- [R194] I already have the free scanner now not working: This app started free now asking a money
- [R290] Shame: Big big shame many features that were once free now sit behind a paywall. I remember paying for this originally, now they’ve taken those features you paid for away. Signs of classic U.S business practices. Avoid.
- [R33] Scam: They keep changing the name and charging for the app again.
- [R340] Elnur S: This guys are scammers! I am a client of the Tiny Scanner for more than 7 years now, and my current subscription is paid until 15 of November 2025. Despite of the valid subscription application doesn’t allow me to scan more than one page and requires to pay more for “upgraded” version of the App. Then the question is what for I have paid £24,99???
- [R56] Freezing constantly: What is happening to this app?
- [R169] Unable to send scans: App always shuts down when I try to email files
- [R184] Used to love it…..: Been using for years. Every time they update it to make it “better“, it works worse.
- [R422] App constantly crashes: Ever since the app had it’s latest update I can’t seem to mass scan documents without crashing Don’t get me started on the price changes. Absolutely shocking. Avoid this app
- [R24] Mike R.: Love how it focuses on my image and then puts it into a file for me but when I converted from PDF to Word, it’s very garbled
- [R172] Useless: Randomly cropped the government documents I tried to scan. After 5 attempts I gave up.
- [R252] It isn’t working properly: It no longer detects borders so you have to take a normal image of paperwork then upload that to send it instead of taking direct in the app.
- [R304] Not so good: Used to be better, can’t discard single page anymore, have to dump the lot and scan everything again. The app struggles to find edges
- [R116] Deleted all my files.: Your company deleted all my files. The app was updated and everything is gone. I will not renew my subscription when it expires.
- [R244] Deleted all my files thx: Upgrade deleted all my files. Tyvm
- [R39] Error: Hello! I accidentally signed up for a free trial of the Tiny Scanner app. I intended to cancel it, but now I have an unpaid balance of $49.99 and my Apple ID is completely locked. I also have $10 of my own money stuck on this balance. Could you please waive/cancel this unpaid balance and unlock my Apple ID? Thank you!
- [R155] Poor customer service: Started with the 3 day free program and was pleased with how it operated. Purchase a premium account for a year and the app does not work. It stated I have used all my free download. The App still has me in the free test program even though I have paid for a 1 year account. I have emailed customer service 3 times today and I have not heard back. Very frustrating that custome
- [R583] Be careful charged 12 payments after unsubscribing: Downloaded the app, wasn’t what I was looking for and unsubscribed immediately through the App Store. Company and Apple continued to bill me $10.49 for 11 months then froze my Apple account for not making the final $10.49 payment. I’m sure it was a glitch but this fraudulent company along with Apple failed to refund me on an app I had downloaded
- [R653] Deleting: Used this app for years then all of a sudden today I scanned some documents and it wouldn’t let me export them in any format. Kept asking me to subscribe. What’s worse although I previously paid for a full version of the software I was unable to restore my purchase. As I needed some documents asap I even tried to subscribe for a week to be able to have all the features and even t
- [R84] Ad pretending to be UI: Just experienced an advertisement in the bottom bar pretending to be part of the UI that made it seem like a “confirm” button. Tapped it rather than the actual UI and it brought up the App Store for a second app for PDFs. Definitely not a good experience feeling scammed.
- [R168] Full scale ads with sound and no exit: I have used this app before just fine but recently I tried to use again and a full screen ad with no exit and sound was played with no warning. Ridiculous.
- [R337] Constantly asking for upgrade: Constantly asking for upgrade
- [R620] Way too many ads: Drove me insane in 5 minutes with the amount of begging for me to buy it. Couldn’t do a single thing without being asked several times to buy the app for $70. At least let me try it before asking me.
- [R623] Useless: This thing takes nice pictures. But there’s no way to send the files anywhere. When you try to share a file with email, there’s no attachment, just a blank email.
- [R629] Tiny Scan: Couldn’t share the file to the other Apps
- [R643] App keeps getting worse: With each update this app keeps getting worse for me, I travel to many places for work and when I try to send my scans to my email it says Wait for the scans to load but it takes forever and often they won’t go through until I’m back in the office. This app is wasting my time. I’m trying out a different app and will likely switch. Very frustrated because I have been using
- [R129] Can not restore subscription and files not transferring to new phone: App and subscription not transferring to new iPhone
- [R300] “1 free share left”: Lmaooo, scam. Used to be a normal app
- [R577] Not free: Not free. Thank you for the response, but it is not allowing me to send for free. It allows me to scan for free but then I can’t do anything with it. It is asking for a subscription.
- [R454] Now requesting an annual subscription?!: I remember paying for it and using it for years, but now it’s asking me to pay an annual subscription, which is unacceptable. I’ll probably uninstall it. I need to check, but if I paid for it in the past, I should be entitled to a refund because it was a one-time payment for the full app, and now it has switched to an annual subscription.
- [R611] Subscription now ?! Very disappointed, feels like a money grab: I paid for this app some time ago, and now suddenly, basic features like sending a PDF are locked behind a subscription. Are you serious? I already supported this app financially, and now I can’t even use the features I originally paid for unless I pay again? This is incredibly frustrating and unfair. I want a refund for what I origi
- [R975] Needs an update: Great app that worked fine until recently. Now, scanning multiple pages cause the app to crash. Another issue is that it is now no longer possible to name a document when saving it.
- [R453] Ruined a great app: I used to find this app really useful. I used it now and again but it did the job perfectly and I paid the upgrade price of about £5 to be able to save to Dropbox. Now, this functionality has been lost unless I pay £40 per year, of £4.99 per week, which is just not value for money for the amount I use it. The weekly charge seems outrageous. The adverts that pop up on the free
- [R460] Used to be good: Used to be a great free app. Now wants £40 a year. The ability to recognise document edges seems to be worse than the previous free version. Deleted.
Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store