Seeing AI
by Microsoft
#3 in AccessibilityBest free reading toolkit
A free, well-rounded camera toolkit for documents, labels, cash and photos. It's AI only, so there's no person to check its answers.
What’s good
- Free app from Microsoft, designed with the blind and low-vision community
- Reads text instantly; audio cues help capture full pages; PDFs and handwriting
- Describes photos and videos, answers questions; barcode, currency, color and light tools
Heads-up
- AI only; no option to reach a person
- iPhone app last updated Sept 2025 (v5.6.1); Android updated May 2026
The details
- Best for
- Blind and low-vision phone users who mainly need to read text, mail and labels
- Price
- Free (Free; no paid tier)
- Free plan
- Free app with every tool included: Read, Describe, Products (barcodes), People, Currency, Find My Things, World, Colors, Light
- Skill level
- Beginner-friendly
- Made by
- Microsoft
- Website
- seeingai.com
- Price checked
- Oct 2, 2026
Where it ranks
- #3AccessibilityBest free reading toolkit
How I checked this
Researched, not tested hands-on: I read the official docs, pricing and terms.
What I found
- Free app from Microsoft, designed with the blind and low-vision community
- Reads text instantly; audio cues help capture full pages; PDFs and handwriting
- Describes photos and videos, answers questions; barcode, currency, color and light tools
Watch out for
- AI only; no option to reach a person
- iPhone app last updated Sept 2025 (v5.6.1); Android updated May 2026
- Not verified: Microsoft's own site (seeingai.com) is one paragraph; feature, language and platform details come from Microsoft's App Store and Google Play listings
- Not verified: Whether photos are processed in the cloud or on device, and any AI-training policy (not stated on pages read)
Sources
- Microsoft: Seeing AI seeingai.com
- Microsoft: Seeing AI on the App Store apps.apple.com
- Microsoft: Seeing AI on Google Play play.google.com
Compare with similar picks
| Rank in Accessibility | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | FreeNo paid plan for individuals; businesses pay for separate products such as Be My Eyes Workplace | FreeFree; no paid tier | FreeFree; no paid tier | From $26/moSilver 1-star, $26 USD/month for 20 minutes (personal use; subscribe by contacting Aira) |
| Made for | Blind and low vision | Deaf and hard of hearing | Blind and low vision | Blind and low vision (Aira Explorer); Deaf and hard of hearing via Aira ASL at select partner locations |
| Free plan | Everything: volunteer calls, Be My AI, Service Directory | Whole app free | Whole app free | 60 free minutes in month one; free at Access Partner sites; free Access AI; Aira AI (Project Astra) free for waitlisted testers |
| Entry plan | None for individuals (free) | None (free) | None (free) | Silver 1-star: $26/month, 20 minutes |
| What you get | Unlimited calls (vendor) | Saved transcripts kept 3 days (saving off by default); sound history covers the past 12 hours | Not published | Plans from 20 to 880 minutes/month ($26 to $1,160); minute bundles 25 for $55, 50 for $100, 100 for $190 |
| Languages | 180+ languages, 150+ countries (vendor) | 80+ languages and dialects; ASL sign-to-text into English | 19: English, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish | App in English, French, Spanish |
| Works with | Meta AI glasses (Ray-Ban, Oakley): hands-free volunteer calls, private User Groups, Service Directory | Wired, Bluetooth and USB mics; smartwatch vibrate/flash alerts; foldable outer screen | Share sheet: describe photos and videos from Mail, Photos, WhatsApp and other apps | Meta AI glasses (hands-free calls); Lyft; web and desktop app |
| Platforms | iOS, Android; Windows and macOS (personal use) | Android 12+; preinstalled on Pixel phones | iPhone and iPad (iOS 15+), Android; World mode needs LiDAR | iOS 15.6+, Android, web app, desktop |
| Your data | Be My AI photos, questions and answers not used to train AI, and AI providers may not train on them; stored videos may be shared with research/AI partners with identifying metadata stripped (policy effective Sept 1, 2026) | Sound Notifications audio stays on device; transcriptions encrypted and stored temporarily in the app | Store labels only: App Store lists identifiers, usage and diagnostics not linked to you; Google Play says no data collected or shared | Personal data stored in U.S. cloud data centers; sharing data to train other companies' AI only through opt-in programs (Build AI) |
| Best for | Blind and low-vision people who want free volunteer and AI visual help, any time | Deaf and hard-of-hearing Android users who want free captions and sound alerts | Blind and low-vision phone users who mainly need to read text, mail and labels | Blind and low-vision people who want trained professional interpreters on demand |
| Skill level | Beginner-friendly | Beginner-friendly | Beginner-friendly | Beginner-friendly |
| Try it free | Try it free | Try it free | Try it free |
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