Scanning
How scanning works.
Scanning is a pipeline, not a magic button. The phone reads the cheap, reliable clues first (a barcode, a cert number, the text on a card), then looks for a match, then asks you when it is not sure. The photo itself is thrown away once the item is identified.
The modes
Quick Scan
One item. Scan, confirm the match, save. The everyday mode.
Batch Scan
Binders and boxes. Auto-capture when the card is in focus, a buzz on each save, the next one straight away. Uncertain cards wait in a review list. Duplicates ask once: add a copy, or bump the quantity, and remember your answer.
Slab Scan
Graded cards. Reads the cert number and grade off the label and fills in the card from it.
Barcode Scan
Boxed figures, building sets, packaged toys and anything else with a UPC or EAN. The barcode finds the product; you confirm the variant.
Serial Scan
Guitars, watches, gear. Reads the serial and the brand or model text, then asks you to confirm the year or variant where serial records are ambiguous.
Coin and Stamp Scan
Small objects need good framing. The app guides the shot, reads what it can (date, denomination, country) and offers candidates to pick from.
General Item
Anything else. The camera helps fill in a description and you complete the record yourself.
How sure is sure?
| Confidence | What the app does |
|---|---|
| High | Saves the match and shows a small confirmation you can undo. |
| Medium | Shows the best match with one-tap confirm, and the alternatives. |
| Low | Says so. Asks for one more clue (the back of the card, the barcode) or offers a manual search. |
What the camera never does
It never uploads your photo to an album. When an identification needs our server, the photo is sent, processed and discarded in the same moment; it is not written to storage, not used to train anything, and not kept in logs. Barcodes and the text on cards are read on the phone itself whenever possible, so most scans never leave the device at all.