{"id":357746,"date":"2025-08-11T19:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/94cf1e71-f985-4458-b526-986c95cee02c"},"modified":"2025-08-11T19:10:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T14:10:00","slug":"microsoft-to-shut-down-lens-and-push-users-to-copilot-but-you-have-other-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/microsoft-to-shut-down-lens-and-push-users-to-copilot-but-you-have-other-options\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft to shut down Lens and push users to Copilot &#8211; but you have other options"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage c-cmsImage_loaded\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/a480dbd8abfe87affdf14046409adcb510f10787\/2025\/08\/11\/b3425890-410e-41cb-8ada-f4f3734ba441\/microsoft-to-retire-its-lens-scanning-app-as-it-pushes-you-to-use-copilot-instead.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=768\" alt=\"Microsoft to retire its Lens scanning app as it pushes you to use Copilot instead\"><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/d95cb0c258ec6ee06a38c24cbc2d2835a942b492\/2025\/08\/11\/b3425890-410e-41cb-8ada-f4f3734ba441\/microsoft-to-retire-its-lens-scanning-app-as-it-pushes-you-to-use-copilot-instead.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=1024\" alt=\"Microsoft to retire its Lens scanning app as it pushes you to use Copilot instead\"><source media=\"(max-width: 1440px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/258f05123eeb08e5edb381b702d1352a86ef197f\/2025\/08\/11\/b3425890-410e-41cb-8ada-f4f3734ba441\/microsoft-to-retire-its-lens-scanning-app-as-it-pushes-you-to-use-copilot-instead.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=1280\" alt=\"Microsoft to retire its Lens scanning app as it pushes you to use Copilot instead\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/258f05123eeb08e5edb381b702d1352a86ef197f\/2025\/08\/11\/b3425890-410e-41cb-8ada-f4f3734ba441\/microsoft-to-retire-its-lens-scanning-app-as-it-pushes-you-to-use-copilot-instead.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=1280\" alt=\"Microsoft to retire its Lens scanning app as it pushes you to use Copilot instead\" width=\"1280\" height=\"737.28\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Microsoft \/ Elyse Betters Picaro \/ ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>ZDNET&#8217;s key takeaways<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Microsoft Lens retires in stages, ending scans by Dec. 15, 2025.<\/li>\n<li>365 Copilot app offers scanning but with fewer features.<\/li>\n<li>Adobe Scan, PhotoScan, TurboScan are solid Lens alternatives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<p>I often use Microsoft Lens on my iPhone to scan photos, business cards, and documents. It&#8217;s a handy and helpful app for scanning physical items. But come December, I&#8217;ll have to rely on a different program for my scanning needs. That&#8217;s because Microsoft is giving the app the heave-ho.<\/p>\n<h2> A multi-stage retirement <\/h2>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/topic\/retirement-of-microsoft-lens-fc965de7-499d-4d38-aeae-f6e48271652d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">new support page<\/a>, Microsoft announced that Lens will be retired starting Sept. 15. But the actual retirement will come in stages. The app will lose official support on Nov. 15, at which time it will be removed from <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/microsoft-lens-pdf-scanner\/id975925059\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">Apple&#8217;s App Store<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.microsoft.office.officelens&amp;hl=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">Google Play<\/a>.&nbsp; <\/p>\n<p><strong>Also:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/microsoft-rolls-out-gpt-5-across-its-copilot-suite-heres-where-youll-find-it\/\"><strong>Microsoft rolls out GPT-5 across its Copilot suite &#8211; here&#8217;s where you&#8217;ll find it<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Even then, you&#8217;ll still be able to create new scans. However, that capability will go away on Dec. 15. At that point, you can continue to view and access previous scans as long as you keep the app on your device, but you&#8217;ll no longer be able to scan new items. <\/p>\n<h2> Alternatives to try <\/h2>\n<p>For those of us who used and liked Microsoft Lens, what can we use as an alternative come December?&nbsp; <\/p>\n<p>There are certainly other scanning apps you can try when Microsoft Lens is gone. I&#8217;ve used&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/acrobat\/mobile\/scanner-app.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">Adobe Scan<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/photos\/scan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">Google&#8217;s PhotoScan<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/turboscanapp.com\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">TurboScan<\/a>, to name a few. Though I still typically turn to Lens for my scanning, any of these other apps can handle the job. <\/p>\n<p>As usual, Microsoft is pointing us to AI, specifically the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/work-life\/the-microsoft-365-copilot-launch-was-a-total-disaster\/\">Microsoft 365 Copilot app.<\/a> But that&#8217;s not the regular Copilot app. That&#8217;s the Copilot app you normally use with a Microsoft 365 account. Fortunately, the app and the scanning capability are accessible to anyone, even without a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/how-to-remove-copilot-from-your-microsoft-365-plan-before-you-have-to-pay-for-it\/\">Microsoft 365 subscription.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Also:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/work-life\/5-non-google-productivity-apps-on-android-i-cant-live-or-work-without\/\"><strong>5 non-Google productivity apps on Android I can&#8217;t live (or work) without<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To try this, download the Microsoft 365 Copilot app for <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/microsoft-365-copilot\/id541164041\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">iOS<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.microsoft.office.officehubrow&amp;hl=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">Android<\/a>. Open the app and tap the three-lined icon in the upper left. Tap Create from the menu, and then select Scan. Position the item you wish to scan and tap the shutter button.&nbsp; <\/p>\n<p>At the preview screen, you&#8217;re able to rotate, crop, and otherwise tweak the scan. You can also retake it or delete it. When done, tap the checkmark to save the scanned image. <\/p>\n<p>You can store the scans locally on your mobile device or sync them with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/best-cloud-storage\/\">OneDrive<\/a> to access them elsewhere. You can also view previous scans at the Create screen. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage\"><!----> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/microsoft-to-shut-down-lens-and-push-users-to-copilot-but-you-have-other-options\/\" alt=\"Microsoft Lens scan\" width=\"1280\" height=\"890.4000000000001\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Screenshot by Lance Whitney\/ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2> Copilot vs. Microsoft Lens&nbsp; <\/h2>\n<p>However, there are a few limitations using Copilot vs. Microsoft Lens for scanning.&nbsp; <\/p>\n<p><strong>Also:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/microsoft-gives-copilot-a-face-heres-how-to-try-your-new-appearance-chat-buddy\/\"><strong>Microsoft gives Copilot a face &#8211; here&#8217;s how to try your new Appearance chat buddy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With Copilot, you can&#8217;t save scans directly to Word, PowerPoint, or OneNote. You&#8217;re unable to save scanned business cards to OneNote. Copilot offers no option to read scanned documents aloud, nor does it integrate with the Immersive Reader feature.&nbsp; <\/p>\n<p>Of course, Microsoft sees AI as the solution for everything, so you&#8217;re stuck with this option if you prefer to use a Microsoft product. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/microsoft-to-shut-down-lens-and-push-users-to-copilot-but-you-have-other-options\/\">Source Link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can use Microsoft 365 Copilot to scan, though it lacks some of the features found in Lens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14083],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-357746","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-technology-industry-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}