iOS App · The Index / 03
Silly Scan.
No ads. No subscriptions. Nothing to unlock. A blue line sweeps across the camera and freezes everything it passes. Wiggle while it goes by and you get stretched faces, extra arms, and double heads.
- Price
- Free, nothing to unlock
- Ads & purchases
- None, ever
- Made for
- Kids 6 to 8
- Data collected
- None
- Runs on
- iPhone & iPad, iOS 17+
- Available
- Everywhere except the EU
My kids kept asking for the time warp scan filter, and every version I found wanted money, an account, or their attention. So I built them one that wants nothing.
Prop the phone up, press GO, and a blue line sweeps across the picture. Everything behind the line freezes where it is. Everything ahead of it is still live, so a head that turns halfway through comes out twisted, and an arm that waves comes out as three. The finished scan saves as a photo and a short silent video.
There is nothing else to it, on purpose. No accounts, no settings screen, no rating prompts, no share nags, and no network code at all. The camera picture is turned silly on the device and never leaves it.
How it works
- 01 Prop it up Lean the phone or iPad against something steady, so the only thing moving is you.
- 02 Press GO A giant 3, 2, 1 counts you in, and the camera holds its focus and brightness steady for the whole scan.
- 03 Move while the line passes Lean, spin, stick out your tongue, wave an arm. Whatever the blue line has already passed is frozen, so time it right and you stretch.
What is in it
- 01 Four directions, three speeds The line can travel down, up, left, or right. Slow, normal, and fast take 8, 5, and 2.5 seconds to cross the picture.
- 02 Loop mode Turn it on and the line starts over every time it finishes. Tap anywhere to stop, and every take (up to the last 12) waits in a gallery: watch each one, pick your favorites, and save as many as you like.
- 03 Sounds made on the device A whoosh that rides the line, a thunk at the freeze, and a blip for every number in the countdown, all synthesized as they play. The silent switch mutes them, and they never stop music that is already playing.
- 04 How-to cards with no words The first time it opens, three picture cards show how it works, so a child who is not reading yet can still get it.
- 05 Saves a photo and a video Save puts the frozen picture and a short silent video of the sweep into Photos. The app can only add to your library, never look through it.
- 06 iPhone and iPad Front and back cameras. iPhone in portrait, iPad in any orientation, including Split View and Slide Over.
Silly Scan has no commercial side at all: nothing to buy, nothing to sign up for, and nothing to sit through before the fun. That is the whole business model. There isn't one.
Silly Scan collects nothing. No accounts, no analytics, no ads, and no third-party code. Camera frames are processed on the device and never leave it. The only way out of the app, to Settings when a permission is off, sits behind a grown-up check: press and hold for three seconds.