Google PhotoScan turns your smartphone into a scanner for your old photos

Despite the name, smartphones are generally used for anything but traditional phone related activities -- and one of the most popular usages of the devices is snapping photographs. But while an entire generation of photographers has grown up with digital photography, there are plenty of physical photos out there waiting to be digitized.

Google thinks it has the answer in the form of PhotoScan. The app is available for iOS and Android, and it transforms your smartphone into a scanner so you can preserve old photos. Unsurprisingly, it is packed with smarts to simplify the whole process, and it all ties in neatly with Google Photos.

The process is simple and basically involves taking a photo of your photos. This might sound a little primitive, but help is on hand to give you the best results. Google explains that the app "detects edges, straightens the image, rotates it to the correct orientation, and removes glare".

Of course you might still not be entirely happy with the results, but there are editing tools available to help fix any issues you might find. There is an auto-enhance option, but you can also manually tweak settings if you prefer. No photo app would be complete without a supply of filters and effects, and PhotoScan does not disappoint on this front.

You can find out more about the app in Google's (somewhat lengthy) introductory video:

Download PhotoScan for iOS from the App Store, or Android from Google Play.