Our story
About PhotoScan
PhotoScanRestore exists so families stop losing whole albums to the cupboard. We help you save every print, untouched, into a private collection — then faithfully restore the few photos that carry the story, keeping both versions, without surrendering the originals to a lab.
PhotoScanRestore is built by a solo founder and shaped by real conversations with people digitizing family archives. The goal is simple: the whole album made safe first, honest restoration chosen photo by photo, and nothing precious overwritten along the way.
Who we help
From shoeboxes to multi-generation archives
Whether you're starting with a single album or inheriting decades of memories, we meet you where you are.
- Family historians coordinating reunions, memorials, or milestone celebrations who need fast, collaborative workflows.
- Community archivists and heritage centers preserving local history with limited staff and budget.
- Anyone inheriting albums, slides, or film who wants the people in those photos to look like themselves again — no expensive equipment and no need to ship originals away.
How it works
Three steps to preserved memories
Capture, restore, and share—all from your phone or desktop.
Save the album
Scan each print with the iPhone app (or upload flatbed scans on the web). Every photo is saved untouched to a private collection before anything else happens.
Restore the keepers
Choose the few photos that deserve real care. Careful restoration repairs fading, tears, and scratches while keeping the person recognisable — and both versions are kept.
Share the story
Organize photos into private albums, add captions or voice memories, and invite family to see them.
Milestones
Our journey so far
- 2023
- The first prototype grew from restoring our founder's grandparents' wedding album and trying to bring back the detail without losing the feeling of the original.
- 2024
- Early families tested the scanning guidance, colour repair, and private archive while digitising their own real collections.
- 2025
- Launched the public restore demo, face enhancer preview, and tooling that connects restorations to living family narratives.
- 2026
- Launched the iPhone app on the App Store and began the move to save-first scanning — saving every print untouched first, so restoring becomes a photo-by-photo choice.
Our values
What guides us
These principles shape every feature, partnership, and support interaction.
Respect the original
Your scan is saved untouched before any repair begins, and it is never overwritten. Restoration aims to keep the person, their clothing, and the era recognisable — and if a result does not look like them, you can ask for a free redo.
Privacy by default
Family archives are personal. Your archive starts private, media stays encrypted at rest, and you control every share.
Access for every storyteller
Clear guidance, accessible UI, and responsive support mean grandparents, grandkids, and community archivists can collaborate with confidence.
FAQs
Common questions
Need more detail? Visit the Contact page and we'll tailor a response.
Is PhotoScanRestore a replacement for professional labs?
We complement professional labs by giving you control over at-home digitizing, careful restoration, and private sharing. Some users still outsource extremely fragile originals for capture, then bring the files back into PhotoScanRestore for organization and storytelling.
How do you protect uploaded photos?
Uploads use HTTPS, assets are encrypted at rest, and your archive is private by default. You decide when to create an invite or share link, and you can delete originals, outputs, and account data from your dashboard.
Do I need specialized hardware to get good results?
No. Use the phone camera you already own (or a flatbed scanner when you have one), then upload to PhotoScanRestore for restoration and organization.
Can organizations or archives use PhotoScanRestore?
Yes. Community archives and heritage groups can use the same restoration and private album tools as families. If you have a larger project, contact us and we'll help you plan the simplest approach.
What's next on the roadmap?
We're improving family storytelling, metadata export, and tools for larger collections. We share important launches and practical restoration updates as they are ready.
Ready to connect? Visit the Contact page for support and partnership details, or subscribe to updates through the Press room.