New AI app for describing images and video: PiccyBot

By Martijn - Sparkling Apps, 1 March, 2024

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hello guys,

I have created the free app PiccyBot that speaks out the description of the photo/image you give it. And you can then ask detailed questions about it.

I have adjusted the app to make it as low vision friendly as I could, but I would love to receive feedback on how to improve it further!

The App Store link can be found here:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/piccybot/id6476859317

I am really hoping it will be of use to some. I have earlier created the app 'Talking Goggles' which was well received by the low vision community, but PiccyBot is a lot more powerful and hopefully useful!

Thanks and best regards,

Martijn van der Spek

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Comments

By Martijn - Sparkling Apps on Friday, October 17, 2025 - 07:45

PiccyBot is now available for MacOS as well. You need a M1 or higher Mac for this. You can benefit from any existing subscription by using the same Apple account. Just go to the App Store on your Mac and search for PiccyBot, it should pop right up.
The camera on the Mac won't be available, but you can describe any video or image stored on your Mac and it has all the regular PiccyBot features.

By Gokul on Saturday, October 18, 2025 - 07:53

I'm already subscribed, but would pay again for this. it'd be an wonderful thing to have especially if we could refine it to work fairly decent.

By mr grieves on Saturday, October 18, 2025 - 15:58

Firstly, great news about the Mac app - thank you. I was initially unsure I was downloading the right thing as the App Store suggested it wasn't a Mac app, but I installed it and opened it up and it seems to work well.

On the Mac, my main use case for this sort of thing is getting images on the clipboard described. But being on my work computer, I don't really want the automatically detection of clipboard on. I noticed there was an option to turn it off. Is there another way I can paste the image in? I tried but I only ever managed to get the last text I copied into the text box as opposed to the last image.

Whilst the feature is fantastic, I'm still a little unsure about how much I like the automatic option on the phone either. For example, I could be in an app and share an image to PiccyBot. So the app opens and immediately I'm prompted if I want to paste in the text I happened to have copied to clipboard before. It's a minor thing but I think I would prefer to be in control of when it happens. Is the only other way to do this in iOS as per the original version? I never really got the hang of it because I don't think it was really set for VoiceOver.

I would quite like an easy way to paste on my own terms in both applications.

And going back to the Mac, the other thing I would really, really like is a way to have the image described locally without going to the cloud. I'm a bit reluctant to put work images in here - I probably will if I have to, but I would really rather have something that was all local in those cases. Please correct me if I am wrong but I don't think an option like this exists now, so can it maybe be added as a feature request?

Thanks again for continuing to work on this. The amount of new features that have come in since I first subscribed is incredible.

By Martijn - Sparkling Apps on Saturday, October 25, 2025 - 11:29

Guys,

In the latest update of PiccyBot, I have added a photo guidance mode. Switch to front facing camera while using VoiceOver, and you will get spoken guidance on whether you have centered your face and if you are the correct distance. Hope this helps! It even works in all PiccyBot languages.

For MacOS, keyboard shotcuts Command I and Command V now work to select images or videos. This should allow easier keyboard only control of PiccyBot on MacOS.

Thanks for the feedback as always!

By Gokul on Sunday, October 26, 2025 - 05:31

Works as well as the Guided frames feature in Google pixel devices. It's come out really well for a first implimentation. but it'd be really nice and useful if it can be developed as a dedicated photography tool for the visually impaired with detailed instructions as to frame and capture pictures, using both cameras and not just portraits, but also of landscapes etc. Maybe one will have to surrender some of the creative autonomy to the AI in such a tool, but I'd be fine with that.

By Martijn - Sparkling Apps on Saturday, November 1, 2025 - 04:43

The latest version adds haptic feedback when you are centered and at the correct distance for a selfie.

This selfie mode is quite popular and I am considering adding a separate app for just this feature. PiccyBot is getting a bit heavy on features, of which many are not used often. Separate 'one thing' apps may be more practical.

By Gokul on Saturday, November 1, 2025 - 06:05

I feel that'd be great. The way I see it, the primary function of PiccyBot is image/video recognition and the primary function of the new app should be photography. Like I said in my last comment, I'm really looking forward to that app becoming an actual photography tool for the blind camera user. That would be empowering for so many at so many levels.

By mahmood on Saturday, November 1, 2025 - 08:46

Hello Martijn and the PiccyBot community,
Thank you for developing such a fantastic and useful app! I find PiccyBot's image and video description features incredibly helpful.
I have a suggestion for a feature that would greatly enhance the experience for taking photos of people:
Could you please consider adding guidance for using the rear camera that also incorporates the ability to detect and count multiple faces?
Currently, using the rear camera for photos of people, especially groups, can be challenging. Adding audio guidance (like "Move left," "Two faces detected," or "Closer," "Further away") would make it much easier to frame the shot correctly and ensure everyone is in view before taking the picture.
This would be a game-changer for group photos and is a feature many users would appreciate.
Thanks again for all your hard work!

By Dave Nason on Saturday, November 1, 2025 - 11:02

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Yes thanks so much for continuing to improve the app.
I agree that having this kind of feature for the rear camera too would be great. And in both cases, having it work for both single and multiple faces or subjects.
If you were to go down the road of spinning it off into a separate app, I wonder could you designate it as an app that can be launched with the camera control button?
Dave

By Martijn - Sparkling Apps on Sunday, November 9, 2025 - 10:32

The idea of a camera spinoff app with initial rough quick feedback as a guide is interesting and am looking into it. For now, I have added an option in settings to allow PiccyBot to automatically take a photo and describe it, while using the front facing camera when it finds a face is properly in focus. This is available in the latest update, it was a requested feature.

By Martijn - Sparkling Apps on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 12:48

PiccyBot has been updated with the latest models this week: GPT 5.1, Gemini 3 Pro and Grok 4.1. Note that these are used for image descriptions only, for video descriptions PiccyBot still relies on earlier versions.