Keeping FairScan simple isn't simple

Keeping FairScan simple isn't simple

July 31, 2026

I present FairScan as a "simple and respectful" app. But those are not just words to talk about FairScan, they are key values that drive development. I dedicated one of my first blog posts to explain what I see as a "respectful" app and I think that "simple" also deserves a few explanations.

What I mean by "simple"

Let's first clarify what I mean when I describe FairScan as a "simple" app.

Essentially, I'm trying to make an app that's as easy to use as possible. For an app like FairScan, the scanning process should be straightforward and require a minimal number of actions from users. I believe that an app with few buttons and options makes it easier for users to get the job done.

That's more likely to happen for an app that focuses on doing one thing . FairScan is about scanning documents. It's not about storing them or editing them. Storing user data implies some responsibility and I think it's better handled by a dedicated app. Users can combine apps that have a small but well-defined scope: the Android system provides an infrastructure to make that fluid.

I should also make it clear that what I mean by "simple" is definitely not "basic" . I put a lot of effort in automatic processing so that users can get a good scan without any manual adjustment. The app takes care of document detection, perspective correction, color detection, brightness and contrast enhancements... What you see today took me a lot of research and testing so that users can "get a scan" without having to think about what it involves behind the scenes. So the fact that FairScan is simple for users certainly does not mean that it's simple to develop.

Overall, I think that my goal for a simple app is to reduce the mental load for users as much as possible.

Why building a simple app

The main reason for me to build a simple app is that I'd like it to be usable by everyone . My goal is that FairScan is not only used by advanced users who know where to find respectful apps. It's therefore crucial that it's easy to use.

It's also because that's the kind of app I want to use. When I have to scan a document, it's often for administrative purposes and I don't want to think about it, I just want to get a result fast. I'm sure many people feel the same: they don't enjoy scanning documents, they just want to get the job done with a tool that stays out of the way .

I also enjoy looking deeply at a problem, understanding its essence, and figuring out how to present it as clearly as possible.

For all those reasons, I think a simple app is the only kind I could build.

It's a deliberate choice that has been driving FairScan's development since its inception. It's a major driver for every decision and it's really about favoring clarity and ease of use over PDF perfection and manual control.

Let's look at how that drives FairScan's development.

A continuous quest for simplicity

The app evolved a lot since its first public version. At the time, FairScan's workflow required users to go through 4 screens to get a scan. At some point, I received a request from someone who was using the app to scan many documents one after another and would have liked a specialized workflow requiring less clicks. I was reluctant to add an option for that and I started to think about how to make the workflow simpler for everyone.

I made changes in that direction in several steps.

The screen to preview the result and adjust it looked like a questionable step of the workflow. It's useful in some cases but the app is supposed to give a good result without adjustment. The screen now only appears when tapping a thumbnail and I believe that makes more sense.

The app always displayed a home screen on startup, and the end of the scanning workflow also led back to that screen. It contained a list of previously saved PDFs which was raising questions. I dropped the home screen.

It's not a flawless process though. I had to reintroduce an explicit choice on startup to resume an ongoing scan when there's one: the removal of the home screen had made that choice implicit and that prevented new users from understanding what a "scan" means in FairScan.

The result is that there are now only 2 screens left in the scanning workflow. Over the past year, FairScan improved on many aspects but it's now also simpler for everyone .

Adding features and keeping it simple

The app also had to provide more and more value to users, and I didn't want that to impact how simple it is.

As an example, FairScan used to produce PDFs without caring for the physical dimensions of documents until recently. That was a problem, at least in some cases, and users asked for a way to force a PDF paper format such as "A4" or "Letter". I worked on a different way to address that problem that seemed more aligned with FairScan's approach. I found technical ways for the app to detect physical dimensions in many cases....