Nostalgia: Restore Old Photos
Scan & Repair Family Pictures
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Bring back faded family photos. Scan a print with your phone, compare the result with your original, and keep the one that looks right. Start free.
Restore old family photos and keep the story that goes with them. Nostalgia brings back faded, worn prints while your original stays beside every result, so you can compare before you keep anything.
RESTORE FADED PHOTOS
Scan a print with your phone or choose one from your photo library. Nostalgia restores fading and wear, and adds color only if you ask for it. Every result sits next to your original: keep the one that looks right, or keep the original. AI can invent details or make mistakes, so nothing replaces your photo until you choose.
FIX ONLY WHAT YOU MARK
Draw over a scratch, crease or spot, and only that area is repaired. The photo check looks at each upload and suggests a sensible next step, such as rescanning a blurry print.
SCAN A BOX, A FEW PHOTOS AT A TIME
Capture prints with guided phone scanning, review automatic crops and album-page splits, and pick up where you left off. For flatbed scans, import a whole-bed file on the web or use the Nostalgia Mac app with your scanner.
ASK THE FAMILY
Send a photo link and ask who, where or when. Relatives answer in their browser, with no app to install. You review every answer before it is added to the photo.
KEEP NAMES, DATES AND STORIES TOGETHER
Add names, dates, places and notes, find the same people across your photos, and organize albums. Optional AI help can draft captions or date estimates for you to edit. Invite relatives into a shared family space: free accounts include one with up to 50 photos and 5 members, and the Family plan adds room for larger collections.
PRIVATE BY DEFAULT
Your photos stay private until you share them, and you keep ownership. Your photos are never sold or shared for advertising. AI processing is opt-in: restoration and optional text help use third-party AI only after you give permission, and your photos are not used to train AI models unless you separately opt in. If a restore fails, it is refunded. Online features need an account and may have plan limits.
Privacy Policy: https://getnostalgia.ai/legal/privacy
Terms of Use: https://getnostalgia.ai/legal/terms
more See your family as a tree, and restore a whole set of photos at once.
- Family tree: see your family with their portraits, find who is still missing a photo, and move through the decades.
- Albums: say who an album is about, and see what its photos already tell you.
- Restore a set of photos in one step, see about how long is left, and get one notice when they are ready to review.
- Each result says what was done to the faces and that they were checked against your original.
- Save to Photos saves a share-ready copy, and Similar Photos finds the same print scanned twice.
- Smaller fixes throughout.
2.3.7 4d ago
Repair the damage you can see, and ask your family about any photo.
- Repair damage: open a photo's More menu, mark the scratches or spots, and repair just those. It works on photos you have not restored yet.
- Ask the family: send a relative one private question about any photo. They answer without an account, and you choose whether to keep the answer.
- The result screen now shows four main actions, with the rest under More.
- The summary of what we did and the dialog buttons now appear in your language.
- Owners can delete a Family Vault or memorial, Family plan vaults hold up to 10 people, and you can cancel an account deletion for 7 days.
- Smaller fixes throughout.
2.3.6 Oct 6
Albums now have their own workspace.
- Open an album to see what is restored, scan photos into it, or share a public before-and-after link.
- Add, dismiss, or bring back album ideas; auto albums are clearly labelled.
- Home now points to your album ideas instead of creating one silently.
- Album ideas now load reliably when you open your Library, and Undo stays available after you dismiss the last idea.
- Smaller fixes throughout.
2.3.5 Sep 20
Clearer choices after you restore a photo.
- After your first restoration, choose Rate or Not now when you are ready.
- Keep or Not yet makes it clearer what happens to a free restore result.
- Returning from people review resumes Home more reliably.
- Scan review still shows when photos are saved so you can take a break.
- Family help is available in all seven supported languages.
2.3.4 Sep 17
Preserve your family albums a few photos at a time.
- Scan review makes it clear when your photos are saved and you can take a break.
- Continue a flatbed scanning session on the web in the same album.
- Get clearer guidance for preserving original tones, trying a restoration, and adding names and stories later.
- Open the same photo’s version review on web to review unused scans and restoration attempts before permanent cleanup.
- Family help is available in all seven supported languages.
2.3.3 Sep 6
Photo Sources and restorations are now clearer from capture to final choice.
- Phone captures, flatbed scans, and imported files have accurate, correctable provenance.
- Every accepted Source stays preserved; a rescan becomes current only when you choose it.
- Compare any two Source or restoration versions, then choose the Current Source and Chosen restoration independently.
- Merge, unmerge, and Trash keep provenance and version history understandable.
- Restore is the action; restoration describes the process and its results throughout the app.
2.3.2 Aug 30
Source selection and recovery are now clearer from the first scan to the final keeper.
- Every accepted Source is preserved; a rescan remains a candidate until you choose it.
- Versions distinguishes loading, recovery, and a genuinely empty history.
- Feedback and error actions stay readable and attached to the exact visible result.
- Welcome, Archive, People, Devices, and recent work have clearer next steps and recovery.
- Automatic Restore explains that unsafe results can be withheld for review.
2.3.1 Aug 27
The first screen now starts cleanly below the status bar and camera cutout. Restoration is clearer from the first tap to the final keeper.
- Home now keeps its opening photo and actions clear of system controls across iPhone and Android.
- Automatic Restore now chooses one best verified path for every photo, with no model or quality tier to pick.
- Each result explains what was preserved and flags when another scan or a closer review is safer.
- If a result misses, tell us why and use Try another look without losing the Original.
- Photo Insight turns completed work into clear next actions across Archive and Family.
- Exhibits are easier to curate, share, revise, and undo.
2.3.0 Aug 18
Restoring your first photo is now as simple as choosing it, tapping Restore, and sharing the result with family.
- Choose a photo or scan a print, then land directly on the recommended Restore action. Specialist controls stay optional under Advanced tools.
- See the whole Original and Restored photo in the before-and-after view, then share the result privately or send the transformation to the family group.
- Some photos need more than a standard repair. When yours does, you are offered a deeper restore alongside it, with the price shown before anything is spent. Your first one is free.
- Turn AI suggestions off and they stay off. Nothing is inferred about your photos while that switch is down.
- Open a memorial on its own page, on any phone, without an account — made to be handed round at a service.
- When a relative sends you a photo you already have, the app says so instead of quietly adding a second copy.
- Photos worth your attention are sorted by what is actually wrong with them, in words rather than a score.
- Finished restores leave a clear receipt on the photo, so you can return hours later and still see what happened.
- When a provider returns a smaller image than your scan, the photo now says so plainly instead of implying no resolution was lost.
2.2.9 Aug 5
Native single and batch scanning, plus smarter and safer restoration.
- Scan prints with your phone's native scanner, and accepted photos land straight in Recent Scans.
- Restore suggests only what a photo actually needs, and no longer runs destructive noise reduction on grainy or textured old prints by default.
- Start over is one tap after any edit, and recommendations update as you go.
- Similar-photo review checks the people in each photo, so unrelated pictures are not grouped together.
- Grouped-photo accessibility, version and photo-story sharing, and overall stability are improved.
2.2.7 Jul 20
Your archive comes alive in this update:
- People: put a name to a face once, then browse your archive by person, through the years.
- Weave a Story: pick a few photos and turn them into a short story the family can read together.
- Memorials: a quiet, private place to remember someone, with their photos, life dates, and a few words of tribute.
- Family Vault, now free: every account includes one invite-only vault where up to 5 relatives can browse and contribute.
- The back of the photo matters: scan the handwriting and we transcribe the names, dates, and places into the photo's notes.
- Scanning polish: faster auto-capture, a shutter that always fires, automatic straighten and crop, and a cleaner review of recent scans.
2.2.6 Jul 12
What's new:
- Honest photo advice: when a scan is too blurry to restore well, Nostalgia now says so and suggests a rescan, instead of a rosy score.
- Library tiles now show the version you kept, with a count of what's inside each photo.
- Compare anywhere: the editor's compare button now shows your Original at a press, and Compare Versions helps you take the next step when a photo has only one version.
- If a restore fails, you can retry it right from the Library.
- Saved recipes now run all their steps, on both iPhone and Android.
- Clearer messages when something goes wrong, larger touch targets, and better labels for screen readers.
2.2.5 Jul 3
What's new:
- A clearer home base: Home opens with "on this day," what to pick up next, and your recent restorations.
- Hands-free scanning: the camera snaps automatically when your print is flat and in focus, so you can rip through a whole stack.
- Smarter scan help: we tell you exactly what a photo needs — and when a rescan won't help (like a busy background), we send you straight to crop or restore instead of asking you to scan again.
- Batch with confidence: each shot gets a quick quality check, so you can catch the few that need a better scan before you commit the whole stack.
- Make it better in place: "Improve" and "try another look" sit right on the result, and a quick rating helps us pick a stronger model next time.
- One simple Share: send a before-and-after, just the photo, or a private link.
- Saved with confidence: every restore is a new version, and your original is always kept.
- Smoother, steadier scanning, restoring, and sharing across the app.
2.2.4 Jun 26
What's new:
- A clearer home base: Home opens with "on this day," what to pick up next, and your recent restorations.
- Hands-free scanning: the camera snaps automatically when your print is flat and in focus, so you can rip through a whole stack.
- Crooked scan? We spot the angle and offer a quick retake before you spend a restore.
- Make it better in place: "Improve" and "try another look" sit right on the result, and a quick rating helps us pick a stronger model next time.
- One simple Share: send a before-and-after, just the photo, or a private link.
- Saved with confidence: every restore is a new version, and your original is always kept.
- Smoother, steadier scanning, restoring, and sharing across the app.
2.2.3 Jun 17
What's new:
- A refreshed look across the whole app: warmer, calmer, and easier to read.
- Find your people: browse by face, see someone through the years, and get "on this day" memories.
- Colorize black-and-white prints, and try another look when a result isn't right.
- A better scanner: glare removal for glossy prints, splitting a capture with several photos, and clearer guidance while you shoot.
- Sharper restorations that keep the full detail of your scans.
- A cleaner, more consistent interface across every screen.
- Photo Insight can draft a caption, estimate the date, and write the story behind a photo.
- Faster, steadier scanning, restoring, and reviewing.
2.2.2 Jun 13
What's new:
- A refreshed look across the whole app: warmer, calmer, and easier to read.
- Find your people: browse by face, see someone through the years, and get "on this day" memories.
- Colorize black-and-white prints, and try another look when a result isn't right.
- A better scanner: glare removal for glossy prints, splitting a capture with several photos, and clearer guidance while you shoot.
- Sharper restorations that keep the full detail of your scans.
- Photo Insight can draft a caption, estimate the date, and write the story behind a photo.
- Faster, steadier scanning, restoring, and reviewing.
2.2.1 Jun 12
What's new:
- A refreshed look across the whole app: warmer, calmer, and easier to read.
- Find your people: browse by face, see someone through the years, and get "on this day" memories.
- Colorize black-and-white prints, and try another look when a result isn't right.
- Photo Insight can now draft a caption, estimate the date, and write the story behind a photo.
- Faster, steadier scanning, restoring, and reviewing.
2.2.0 Jun 11
What's new:
- Faster startup with leaner font and language loading.
- Archive search and filters stay smoother while you work through larger libraries.
- Photo detail, AI tools, scan review, and subscription screens do less hidden work before you open them.
- Subscription recovery is more reliable when App Store or Play Store products are temporarily unavailable.
- Restore and compare flows keep the next action visible with less waiting between screens.
- Web companion pages load less upfront while keeping the same Archive, Restore, Family, and You workflow.
2.1.16 Jun 1
What's new:
- Photo Insight now points to the next useful archive action, not just the first repair.
- Suggest details with AI uses existing Photo Insight to fill only blank archive fields; your edits are never overwritten.
- Progress & Review groups better captures, similar photos, captions, scan decisions, and ready-to-share keepers.
- Originals & Restorations is now the one place to choose the Best Scan and Keeper, with older versions behind All versions.
- Photo detail and restore results keep one primary action visible so the next step is easier to choose.
- Archive Notes stay readable in light and dark detail sheets.
2.1.15 May 28
What's new:
- Scan or upload a stack and choose which photos continue.
- Photo Insight now shows one clear next best action for each photo.
- Progress & Review brings batches, retries, captions, and completed results back to Restore.
- Compare with the Original, choose the Keeper, then add context or share privately.
- Private links are available for individual Keepers; Plus and Pro include paid Family Vaults for shared family spaces.
- Free still starts with 10 restores a month. Plus starts at $5.99/mo and Pro starts at $11.99/mo.
2.1.13 May 20
What's new:
- Scan or upload a stack, choose photos to restore, and send selected photos into Photo Insight recipes.
- Progress & Review brings background batches, retries, scan sessions, captions, and completed results back to Restore.
- Compare each result with the Original, choose the Keeper, then add context or share privately.
- Archive stays browse-first for Photos, Albums, Timeline, search, quick filters, Originals, Keepers, and Versions.
- Family owns People, Family Vaults, memorials, and tree follow-through across mobile and web.
- Same free start: 10 restores a month, same Plus ($5.99) and Pro ($11.99) tiers.
2.1.12 May 13
What's new:
- Archive now opens from a local cache first, then syncs changes in the background without clearing the grid.
- Photos and thumbnails recover more reliably after reopening the app, switching tabs, or hitting an expired media link.
- Large archive syncs continue through all available pages instead of stopping early on long catch-ups.
- Restore progress checks are batched and less noisy, so active work updates without extra per-photo polling.
- Mobile and web now share the same faster Archive projection: Photos, Albums, Timeline, Keepers, Versions, and Restore Progress stay aligned.
- Sign-in and app startup defer more non-critical work so valid sessions should not flash through unnecessary auth states.
- Store, help, handoff, social, and review links still fail softly if the device refuses to open a browser link.
- Same free start: 10 restores a month, same Plus ($5.99) and Pro ($11.99) tiers.
2.1.11 May 11
What's new:
- Archive keeps the cleaner Photos / Albums / Timeline browse surface, without passive review cards above the grid.
- People is now owned by Family, alongside suggested faces, Family Vaults, memorials, and tree import.
- AI descriptions can become editable draft captions when a caption is blank, with visible source labels for AI, user, imported, EXIF, front date stamp, and back note metadata.
- Photo Insight can surface printed camera date/time stamps on the front of a photo and lets you use the stamp as the archive date after review.
- Best Path now includes manual Crop, Straighten, Rotate, Auto Adjust, and Manual Adjust steps before safe AI repair and optional creative tools.
- Similar Photos, captions, scan sessions, retries, and restore batches live in Restore Progress & Review.
- Old Archive deep links still open the new Restore or Family destination.
- External help, handoff, store, social, and review links now fail softly if the device refuses to open a browser link.
- Same free start: 10 restores a month, same Plus ($5.99) and Pro ($11.99) tiers.
2.1.10 May 8
What's new:
- Scan review now opens from the local capture first, while saving, upload, and provenance work continue in the background.
- Restore now keeps the photo, Photo Insight, tabs, and primary action easier to scan on desktop and phone.
- Family now opens with compact actions, four clear tiles, and a dedicated Memorials path.
- Sign-in recovery now handles pending photos, email codes, OAuth retries, and cross-device return paths more consistently.
- Shared family links, reveals, passcodes, expired links, and missing vaults now use clearer recipient states.
- Best Path from Photo Insight replaces advice-only repair cards with one clear action for the safest recommended sequence.
- Archive is Keeper-first and one-photo-one-tile: restored Keepers, Originals, earlier restores, raw captures, and back scans stay linked as Versions instead of cluttering the grid.
- Single-photo scans now show fewer decisions up front: preview, Photo Insight status, restore cost, and one primary action.
- Stack scans can save and restore ready photos progressively without waiting on every questionable capture.
- Editor tabs, Archive selectors, and tool controls were tightened to show more photo and less chrome.
- Archive multi-select now stays compact and non-blocking, with Similar Photos cleanup routed through a keeper review group before any merge.
- Restore progress in Archive now refreshes completed background work correctly instead of leaving a photo stuck in a spinner.
- Progress & Review now owns scan, restore, retry, result review, and share handoffs consistently across mobile and web.
- Same free start: 10 restores a month, same Plus ($5.99) and Pro ($11.99) tiers.
2.1.9 May 6
What's new:
- Bottom navigation polish: Library, Restore, and You now sit in a fixed three-column layout, with Restore centered on every phone size.
- Cross-device consistency: mobile and web now use the same top-level app shell so moving between devices feels familiar.
- Devices & Sync improvements: current-device handling is clearer and safer across web and mobile sessions.
- Family Vaults and People remain available from Library, while Restore stays focused on starting or resuming photo work.
- Same photo restoration and archive workflow you've been using — still free to start with 10 restores a month, same Plus ($5.99) and Pro ($11.99) tiers.
2.1.8 Apr 29
See your family as a tree, and restore a whole set of photos at once.
- Family tree: see your family with their portraits, find who is still missing a photo, and move through the decades.
- Albums: say who an album is about, and see what its photos already tell you.
- Restore a set of photos in one step, see about how long is left, and get one notice when they are ready to review.
- Each result says what was done to the faces and that they were checked against your original.
- Save to Photos saves a share-ready copy, and Similar Photos finds the same print scanned twice.
- Smaller fixes throughout.
more Version 2.3.7 4d ago
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