Support

Need help?.

A scan not coming out silly, a camera that will not turn on, or a question from a grown-up? The answers below cover the common ones. If yours is not here, email me. One person reads every message: the dad who made it.

Common questions

• 01 How do I make a really silly scan? Prop the phone or iPad up against something steady, like a stack of books, so the camera does not move. Stand back far enough that your whole head fits. Hold still until the line reaches you, then move while it passes: turn your head, lean, stretch an arm. Slow gives little ones the most time to wiggle.
• 02 The camera will not turn on Silly Scan needs camera permission. If it was turned off, the app shows a "Let's turn the camera on" screen. Tap Open Settings and an "Ask a grown-up" card appears: a grown-up presses and holds its button for three seconds (letting go early starts over), and iOS Settings opens. Switch Camera on, then come back. You can also go there directly: Settings, then Silly Scan (on iOS 18 and later, Settings, Apps, Silly Scan).
• 03 Save is not working The first time you tap Save, iOS asks to let Silly Scan add to Photos. The app can only add pictures, never look at your library. If that was declined, the Save button turns into Settings. Tap it, pass the same three second grown-up check, and set Photos to Add Photos Only. Each save adds two items: the photo and a short silent video.
• 04 There is no sound Silly Scan's sounds follow the silent switch, so on a silenced iPhone the app is quiet on purpose. On iPad, check that sound is not muted in Control Center. Then check the speaker button next to GO, which mutes the app on its own, and turn the volume up. The sounds never stop or pause music that is already playing.
• 05 Loop mode will not stop The loop button next to GO makes the line start over every time it finishes, forever. To stop it, tap anywhere on the screen, or the stop button in the corner. Every take from that run (up to the last 12) waits in a gallery. Tap a picture to watch it, tap its circle to pick it, then tap Save. Anything you do not save is tossed when you tap Again. Stop before the first pass finishes and you go back to the start.
• 06 Turning the iPad On iPad, Silly Scan works in every orientation, and in Split View and Slide Over. In wide landscape the controls move to a rail down the side. Turn the iPad before you press GO, not during: turning it mid-scan ends that scan and goes back to the start (in loop mode, the takes you already have go to the gallery). iPhone stays in portrait.
• 07 I cannot find it in the App Store Silly Scan needs iOS 17 or later, and it is not available in the European Union.

What to include

• 01 Your device The iPhone or iPad model you are using, for example iPhone 15 or iPad Air.
• 02 Your iOS version Found in Settings, General, About.
• 03 What happened What went wrong and what you expected instead. Say which camera (front or back), direction, and speed you were using if it seems to matter.