New AI app for describing images and video: PiccyBot

I'm already subscribed, but would pay again for this. it'd be an wonderful thing to have especially if we could refine it to work fairly decent.

Firstly, great news about the Mac app - thank you. I was initially unsure I was downloading the right thing as the App Store suggested it wasn't a Mac app, but I installed it and opened it up and it seems to work well.

On the Mac, my main use case for this sort of thing is getting images on the clipboard described. But being on my work computer, I don't really want the automatically detection of clipboard on. I noticed there was an option to turn it off. Is there another way I can paste the image in? I tried but I only ever managed to get the last text I copied into the text box as opposed to the last image.

Whilst the feature is fantastic, I'm still a little unsure about how much I like the automatic option on the phone either. For example, I could be in an app and share an image to PiccyBot. So the app opens and immediately I'm prompted if I want to paste in the text I happened to have copied to clipboard before. It's a minor thing but I think I would prefer to be in control of when it happens. Is the only other way to do this in iOS as per the original version? I never really got the hang of it because I don't think it was really set for VoiceOver.

I would quite like an easy way to paste on my own terms in both applications.

And going back to the Mac, the other thing I would really, really like is a way to have the image described locally without going to the cloud. I'm a bit reluctant to put work images in here - I probably will if I have to, but I would really rather have something that was all local in those cases. Please correct me if I am wrong but I don't think an option like this exists now, so can it maybe be added as a feature request?

Thanks again for continuing to work on this. The amount of new features that have come in since I first subscribed is incredible.

Works as well as the Guided frames feature in Google pixel devices. It's come out really well for a first implimentation. but it'd be really nice and useful if it can be developed as a dedicated photography tool for the visually impaired with detailed instructions as to frame and capture pictures, using both cameras and not just portraits, but also of landscapes etc. Maybe one will have to surrender some of the creative autonomy to the AI in such a tool, but I'd be fine with that.

I feel that'd be great. The way I see it, the primary function of PiccyBot is image/video recognition and the primary function of the new app should be photography. Like I said in my last comment, I'm really looking forward to that app becoming an actual photography tool for the blind camera user. That would be empowering for so many at so many levels.

Hello Martijn and the PiccyBot community,
Thank you for developing such a fantastic and useful app! I find PiccyBot's image and video description features incredibly helpful.
I have a suggestion for a feature that would greatly enhance the experience for taking photos of people:
Could you please consider adding guidance for using the rear camera that also incorporates the ability to detect and count multiple faces?
Currently, using the rear camera for photos of people, especially groups, can be challenging. Adding audio guidance (like "Move left," "Two faces detected," or "Closer," "Further away") would make it much easier to frame the shot correctly and ensure everyone is in view before taking the picture.
This would be a game-changer for group photos and is a feature many users would appreciate.
Thanks again for all your hard work!

Yes thanks so much for continuing to improve the app.
I agree that having this kind of feature for the rear camera too would be great. And in both cases, having it work for both single and multiple faces or subjects.
If you were to go down the road of spinning it off into a separate app, I wonder could you designate it as an app that can be launched with the camera control button?
Dave

@Martijn you continue to be one of the first to bring these promissed excitements to the community! All the best for the good work!

I'm super excited to get my hands on this!
Having alternatives to meta AI will be a welcome change for many of us.
I do have a suggestion for the mobile app.
Would it be possible for the guided selfie mode to have the option to start a countdown and automatically capture selfies?
This was one of my favorite features of selfieX before it died.

Thanks again for the update, Martijn. I love seeing all these new things appear in PiccyBot and can't wait to give this a go.

I'm looking forward to seeing this evolve, as more tools become available. :-)

For everyone I mean?

That sounds amazing. Can you just clarify what is going on?

I think you are opening up PiccyBot as normal. Is it then sitting there listening out for a voice command, which you can speak through the microphone in the glasses? And so at that point it takes a picture and does its thing?

So if I was going out and about, could I just leave PiccyBot running and then talk to either meta or PiccyBot as needed? Does PiccyBot need to be in the foreground? Does it matter if the phone is locked?

Anyway really excited by this. I love how this app always seem to be ahead of the pack with new features, and genuinely useful ones at that.

I found a bug in the app: tapping in the subscription page the price of the different purchaase options with VoiceOver on doesn't activate the relative purchase option, I had to turn off VoiceOver and try tapping the right spot. Secondly a question: I sent a video and the app described it in a text description which the voice I chose read it sequentially without the audio of the video underneath it. Would it be possible to have the video and the audio playing at the same time and the audio is played and generating respecting the silences of the video, like it's done in a real audio description for films or TV shows? Meaning, it tells what happens when it really happens in the video.
Lastly, could we have more voice options for more languages? OpenAI voices such as Fable, Onix etc. are very good in English, but struggle with other languages like Italian, while ElevenLabs voices are much better.

When I'm in ask more to ask follow up questions, the app hangs. I'm noticing this on the latest update and this seems to happen quite frequently across the different LLM engines.

it appears to happen only with device running ios 26.2, hopefully this will help Martijn diagnose the problem. basically, when you tap "ask more", type in a message and tap send, or attach additional image, the app hangs, totally dead. if you then exit to the home screen and relaunch piccybot, it will crash and abort.

Unfortunately, it is still freezing for me. I find that the first couple of questions it is fine with but as you start to ask more and more questions, the app will freeze up completely rendering it completely unuseable until restarted.

Hi,

Question: if I ever want to try the features with the meta glasses, can I use it for free? if yes, can I continue use it without paying a subscription in doing basic tasks? also, when can you use it hands free?

Hi,

Another question: do you guys have a lifetime subscription available so you can use forever?

Since Martijn is discussing interface changes, I’d like to share my thoughts.

It might be a good idea to replace the “ask more” button with an “attach additional image” button. As it stands, you can ask another question from the main screen, but you cannot attach more information—so why have the extra step? An “attach additional image” button would handle this directly. The existing buttons, like camera and photo attachment, start a new session; this change would streamline the process and help avoid the hanging issue we’re experiencing. The fact that few people have complained about the “ask more” problem likely indicates that not many are using that function anyway.

"Ask more" works differently to asking another question from the main screen. I use "Ask more" when the initial description is quite good, but I am curious on some aspects and/or details. Think of "Ask more" as sort of an interactive process, where we can refine the given information or enhance it if we wish. The next question we ask is dependent upon the previous answers, and with "Ask more" the model in use has access to the whole conversation and can and in fact does taylor its answersto the conversation context very well.
"likely indicates that not many are using that function anyway" - LaBoheme, I am not quite sure about this. Please take note that not everybody who uses Piccybot has an iOS 26 compatible device. Me myself for example am using an iPhone XS, which is not iOS 26 compatible. As the bug is iOS 26.2 specific folks like me simply don't experience the bug, and keep using this useful feature free of problems. Secondly it seems from the descriptions, that the bug depends on the conversation length, at least after the initial fix. In a lot of cases, 2-3 follow-up questions are more than enough to clear up all details we are interested in, especially if we are skilled at asking well-formed and clear questions. And that many questions won't neccessarily trigger the bug if I understand everything well. Thirdly in a lot of cases it is not neccessary to ask anything more after the initial description, because it satisfies all of our curiosity. And what we are curious about an image or video is a very very deeply subjective matter and differs greatly even on case-by-case basis. But if the initial description doesn't satisfy that curiosity for some reason, then "ask more" is a true life-saver and a very handy, valuable and practical tool.
Me personally find the "Ask more" interface very neat and practical in its current form, and I wouldn't vote for any change in that, but instead would wish Martin the best luck in uncovering and completely fixing this nasty iOS 26.2 specific "Ask more" chat bug.

It exists at least sinceautumn 2024 (when I purchased mine), but most probably since much earlier. There was a price rise for this in summer 2025 due to increasing costs. If I am not mistaken, its current price is 24.95 USD. In my opinion that's not just a very fair price, but a truly outstandingly moderate one indeed. In my home country, Hungary (a Central-European country), which is far from being among the richest countries, a single meal composed of two dishes costs usually more at a restaurant that is even in the lower middle price range. For another comparison example, my one-month subscription fee for home TV + landline phone + Internet (1 Gbps theoretical bandwidth) in a package currently values at nearly the same if I express that fee in US dollars.

wow! you can ask more from the main screen, there is a text field at the top, the only problem is you can't add pictures, so your conversation is limited to the initial photo you provide. the only time you must use the ask more button is when you need to upload additional picture. my suggestion was to replace the ask more button with the attach more button, like you find on the ask more screen. if you just use the good old camera button, it starts a new session just like before.

now, you might not be use to the new setup in the begining, but why is it so bad as it streamline the whole process?

Yes, of course, I am aware that you can use the text field on the main screen for asking anything. But "Ask more" works differently, and this difference can be significant in some cases.
What does asking from the text field on the main screen do (in my understanding and experience)? It feeds the image or video together with that single question to the model in use (set in settings if one is subscribed). That is called an initial prompt in AI terminology. What happens if you ask another question there (again in my experience and understanding)? It resends the image or video and the new question to the model and gets the answer. The emphasis is on the "new question": the model won't see your earlier question this time! That is the key difference to "Ask More". If you use "Ask More" the model will see all your earlier questions and its responses as a whole chat together with the image or video which you are asking about. Why this difference can be important? Because LLMs are very very context sensitive. They may respond quite differently if you ask two questions in a single chat (like with "Ask More"), than if you send your two questions separately (like when you do it from the main sccreen). You may not perceive this difference in each and every case so noticably, it depends very much on the video or image and your questions. But there is definitely a difference which I very well know from my wide-spread usage of Piccybot. Using "Ask More" produces much more usable, practical, and to-the-point answers in my experience in almost all cases compared to the case when I would ask them from the main screen.
But please don't just take my word for it, LaBoheme, you can experiment freely and compare your results if you ask multiple questions from the main screen and from "Ask More" about the same image or video.
I also encourage Martin to chime in to ascertain that my understanding of these two features is correct or not.

Why not include the attach more with the ask more interface? This is what Be My AI does, and I find it works very well on iOS. Not that PiccyBut has anything to do with Be My Eyes, but the recommendation stands.
Just my two cents...

I'm guessing they don't combine the two for the reason they explained. Inconsistency. I think I'd rather know what I'm getting in to when I choose one option or the other, as opposed to taking my chances when I choose a combined option. Then, too, why not offer all three?

On the other hand, I'm a bit confused by all the AI models or profiles or options or whatever they're called. Why so many? Why not more? What distinguishes one from another when arrowing through the list? Unless I missed something, they aren't even numbered.

And why is the send button so far from the text field? Why not put it right next to the text field?

I apologize if my questions have already been addressed. I only just dove into this very long list of comments and questions. Smile. Nice looking app, though.

I like the lifetime subscription price. I'm tempted. Does it include all upgrades, too?

Brian, "attach more" is already integrated into "ask more". It is there for a while. On the "Ask more" screen, you have three options besides sending your follow-up questions of course. They are: copy, share and attach image. The third does what you point at. This way you can feed multiple images to the model together with multiple questions which can relate to any of the images or their relations etc. The important point is that if you use "ask more" your whole conversation is fed to the model as a single chat together of course with the images.
Bruce, yes, of course, the lifetime price includes all updates in the whole lifetime of the app, that is what this word means. I jumped on this vagon for lifetime Piccybot subscription around version 2.13 or something like that and still get the latest 2.42 of course.
to everybody and Martin: in my opinion one of the unique strengths of Piccybot compared to other description apps (and there are quite many out there nowadays) is its extreme configurability (provided that you have subscription) and its versatility. The variety of images and videos combined with user preferences and needs (degree of sight loss, blind from birth or not etc. etc.) is infinite. I see the only way to match this variety is to give users many many options to finetune their usage to their specific need, and that's what exactly the subscribed Piccybot does, and I frankly praise Martin for this approach. Yes, we are all different. Some do not need a whole array of models, some do. Some are fine with the initial description, some want to dig deeper. And I could go on and on. Piccybot lets us users to choose our way, and that is great in my opinion. Yes, it may take some more work to see through some options, but it is the case with literarily every app. Freedom and choices walk hand in hand with investing a bit more work on the user side in some cases, but in my opinion it is well worth it. But does somebody like the default settings? Totally fine, it is possible. Does somebody want to experiment with different models to feel the nuances of an image or especially of a video? (video description seems to differ much more between models). Fine, it is there also! All in all, this versatility of Piccybot is a value I strongly vote for to keep by all means.

If both the ask more, and the attach more are already together, then why are users asking for an attach more option? I think I am missing something here.

It is quite obvious from the posts that our experience level with Piccybot, our preferences, our ways of working with the app etc. etc. differ much from person to person. That is natural. Some folks (like me) find the current working of Piccybot versatile, intuitive, straightforward and practical, and some folks would prefer other workflows, which they personally would find more streamlined for them. It's a very hard task for Martin to make decisions, choices and adjustments in this very diverse user base. I don't envy his task for a single moment. However I praise his attitude that he wants to give various options to the users, which I think is pretty much the only way to go in such a diverse user base even if it introduces some added complexity both on the developer side and sometimes on the user side too.

This is an awesome app! I have downloaded the app and purchased the lifetime subscription and it is working very well. I was able to send a video from YouTube to the app and it read clearly what was displayed in the video. Keep up thr amazing work, and looking forward to seeing what's next in future.

the ask more bug can kick in after only a single follow up question or after several. Unfortunately it isn't consistently every time when it happens but it is a major bug that is preventing me from enjoying the app as intended.
Having said that, I do appreciate how difficult it is pinning down the bug and addressing it.

Thanks, I appreciate your input and explanation. 🙂

When I now ask for a follow up question, I'm getting the following error message,
Access blocked due to unauthorized access. Please download the official picksybot app from the app store.

Hi Martijn,
I was looking at the Subscription screen as I’m thinking of upgrading. I noticed that all of the benefits listed on that screen are appearing, or at least being spoken by VoiceOver, three times each. Bit weird.
I also wondered; does the premium version include a conversational interface via voice? I’m thinking like Envision Ally? I like Ally’s UX in that sense, but find I get much better results from PiccyBot, so this would be great. Not to replace typing, but as an alternative you could use when the situation fits.
Final question; settle a debate for me… is PiccyBot pronounced “PixieBot” or “PikkyBot”? ☺️
Dave

Hello Dave,
Personally I would hold off on purchasing until the developer has addressed the follow up bugs I've identified.

Hello,
It looks like the ask more issue has finally been resolved. My huge thanks to Martijn for addressing this. I realize it was not an easy one to track down and I truly appreciate your time and effort in addressing this.
I noticed when it came to language models that the language model selection is not being saved when one exits the app.
Is this a result of the added security enhancements?