Short answers to the questions people ask most about Passport Cat. More about the app is on the Passport Cat page.
Do I have to pay to print or download my photo?
No. Taking and checking photos, the prints and the digital file (where the document's rules allow them) are free, as many as you need, with no watermark, no ads and no account. One thing to know first: some documents need a photo taken by the authority or a certified photographer. For those, Home shows a note saying so: you can still use the checks to practise, but downloads are off. Passport Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase for extras: more paper sizes (7×5, 10×8 and 5×3.5 in photo paper, and A5), saving each family member's photo on this device to reprint later, a family sheet with several people on one 6×4 print, and checking one photo against more documents.
What does Passport Cat check?
Passport Cat checks your photo against the published rules for the document you picked: head size and position, eyes, expression, light, shadows, focus and background. Make sure the document card on Home is the right one (tap Change to search by country or document), and tap Rules to read them. You'll see "Meets every check", or what to fix in plain words. A few things the app can't see reliably, so it asks you to confirm them before Print & download. The final decision is always up to the authority that issues the document: Passport Cat isn't affiliated with any government.
My photo failed a check. What do I do?
The review screen says how many things to fix and what to change. The button at the bottom takes you back to where the photo came from: Retake photo opens the camera, Choose another photo opens Photos, and Try another photo (for a reopened photo) goes back to Home. Stand in front of a plain wall in daylight from a window, and ask someone to take it, or use the 3-second timer on the front camera where the rules allow selfies. Passport Cat only crops and scales your photo, never retouches it or gives it a new background, so fix the light or the wall rather than the photo. If the head looks too big or small, use the Head size slider on the review screen. More tips are in our guide to taking a passport photo on iPhone.
How do I print it at the right size, or get the file to upload?
On the review screen, tap Print & download. What you see depends on what the document's rules allow. Print at a pharmacy or kiosk: Share 6×4 print or Save to Photos, and when you order, turn off "fit" or borders. Print at home: pick Letter or A4, tap Share PDF to print, print on photo paper at "Actual size", and check the 25 mm scale bar with a ruler before cutting. Apply online: Share digital photo. If Save to Photos says Passport Cat isn't allowed to add photos, tap Open Settings and turn on Photos access.
Can I use a photo I already have?
Yes. Tap Choose from Photos on Home and pick it; Passport Cat checks it the same way as a new one, including the photo's date: one older than the document's rules allow fails the "Taken in the last…" check. Your latest photo that met the checks is also kept, so if you leave the app, tap Continue with your last photo on Home to pick up where you were. A photo that failed a check is never kept as your last photo, and the next photo that meets the checks replaces it.
Where are my photos? Do I need an account?
There's no account. Your photos are checked on your device and kept out of iCloud backups; they leave only when you share them or save them to Photos. With Pro, Saved people keeps each person's photo on this device for reprinting; tap the trash button next to a person, then Delete, to remove their photo from this device. These photos aren't in your iCloud backups, so to keep a copy, use Save to Photos or share the file.
Does it work offline?
Yes, for the photo itself. There's no account, the rules for each document come with the app, your photo is checked on your device, and the prints and digital file are made on your device, so you can take, check, print and download without a connection. Sending a file by email or to an online application needs one, and so does buying or restoring Pro, which goes through the App Store.
I bought Passport Cat Pro. How do I get it on a new iPhone?
Open Passport Cat, tap ⓘ at the top right of Home, then Restore purchase, under Passport Cat Pro. Use the same Apple Account you bought it with.
Something else?
Tap ⓘ › Report a problem or Suggest an idea, or email [email protected].