Reading snail mail without opening them

By Mani, 9 December, 2017

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

With the holiday season, upon us, junk mail fill the mailboxes. I would like to be able to read only the envelopes to decide whether to open or discard them.

I would like to know which of the apps- KNFB Reader, Seeing AI, Prizmo Go etc is good for this task and how to do so. I have tried all of the above mentioned apps with frustrating results,.

Thanks in advance..

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Comments

By Sabrina on Saturday, December 9, 2017 - 21:57

It looks like you need an ocr app. I would recomend prismo go or maybe tap tap see or even identify or Seeing Ai or aipoly or even texie. Hope this helps. Note that Seeing Ai may not be available in your country; it is like this in sweden and I just don’t know whhy. Also I would avoid the ones with subscription if you use gift cards.

By Blind Traveler on Saturday, December 16, 2017 - 17:41

I hate junk mail! I call the companies that send me catalogues and flyers and tell them I am blind and to take me off their lists. UGH I hope you find an app that works for you. I have a big reader that will tell me what it says on the envelope. But sometimes you have to open the stuff just to make sure.

By charles on Sunday, December 17, 2017 - 12:44

It will work if you are at the right distance from the envelope, if the lighting is right, and you have a steady hand. Use the channel for reading a single line of text and move slowly. For the best result, though, rely on a flat bed scanner and an OCR program on your PC such as OpenBook.

By Ekaj on Monday, December 18, 2017 - 21:49

This info is good to know for this up-and-coming iPhone user, lol. I'm on a limited income, so I think I'll check out this Seeing AI thing. It sounds pretty awesome, and I definitely get my fair share of junkmail both electronically and through the regular post. Thanks for posting.

By Mani on Monday, December 18, 2017 - 22:09

Thank you all. And Ekaj, you are welcome and besides Seeing AI is free. And it is worth trying for many other purposes..

Also, I don't use Windows but I guess I can use Docuscan in conjunction with an Eppson flatbed scanner I already have. It sounds a bit painful to scan those letters one after another but I guess we don't have a good choice.

By Chuck Winstead on Tuesday, December 19, 2017 - 01:14

I feel that struggle as well. Getting advertisements from credit card companies is pretty frustrating. Especially after I keep calling and saying I'm not interested, and to take me off of their list.