RIP, Microsoft Lens, a simple little app that’s getting replaced by AI

Sometimes, it is better to have a simple application that does a good thing without a lot of noise.

Microsoft lens That type of app was: a mobile document scanner that turns paper documents, business cards, receipts and anything else to readable digital files easily. Microsoft says that now, that app is being shut down, as it instead of its users instructs the AI Chat app to its Copilet AI chat.

According to a new support DocumentThe lens will retire from iOS and Android devices starting on September 15, 2025, then the Apple App Store and Google Play will be removed on November 15, 2025. Existing users will be able to continue using the scanning capabilities of the app by December 15, 2025. No new scans will be possible after this date, but any new scans will identify the EP as long as it is.

First Has been launched in 2015Microsoft lens (then known as office lens) originally evolved from an application designed for Windows Phone Device. Although its original effectiveness was equal to other mobile scanning applications, it did not try to uphold users for certain functionality or try to push them into subscriptions – a rarity of today’s App Store.

Instead, it has any notes – handwriting or otherwise – documents, receipt, business cards, or even whiteboard scribbles like PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel or Pictures in your favorite file format. It also provides various built-in filters to enhance the image of the result, to lighten the document, turn it into a more sharp black-white copy.

Then you can save one of Microsoft applications, other online services or your camera roll. It was easy, and it worked well.

The upcoming shutdown of the app first identified the site Blung computerWhich mentions that users are operating on the Microsoft 365 Copilot App, which does not have all the functionality available in the lens. While Skillet Can handle scanning, it does not support the scans directly to save on onenot, word or powerpoint, or it does not save business card scans on the onot. It is also read-out-of-loud features of the lens’s accessibility. Immersion Protection, site notes.

Despite the age, the lenses are fairly popular, it pulls more than 322,000 downloads The App Store And Google Play Over the past 30 days in accordance with the application intelligence supplier’s data AppFiguresThe From January 2017, it has been downloaded 92.3 million times, showing the farm data.

Microsoft has not yet responded to any request to comment on the decision to close the lens.