Quick Start
- Open Lens and tap Continue on the welcome screen.
- Grant permissions when prompted (camera, location).
- Point and shoot. The data overlay appears automatically.
- Find your photo in Gallery with embedded metadata.
That's it. Your first verified capture is complete.
Core Concepts
What is "Verified Capture"?
Lens embeds real-time data directly onto your photos and videos at the moment of capture:
| Data Embedded | Source |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | Device clock |
| GPS Coordinates | Device location services |
| Address | Reverse geocoding |
| Compass Heading | Device magnetometer |
| Weather | Optional (requires enable) |
| C2PA Signature | Cryptographic digital sign (Photo & Video) |
This creates proof of work: visual evidence that a capture occurred at a specific place and time.
Privacy First
- All processing happens on your device. Photos are never uploaded.
- No usage analytics. Lens does not run in-app usage analytics, ad profiling, or similar tracking. Support is user-initiated (email) with optional, off-by-default diagnostic attachments.
- You own your data. Export and delete at any time.
The Main Interface
Camera Screen
| Element | Action |
|---|---|
| Shutter Button | Tap to capture photo |
| Video Button | Tap to start/stop recording |
| Gallery Icon | Bottom-left, access captured media |
| Settings Icon | Top-left, adjust preferences |
| Tap on preview | Focus at that point |
| Slide up/down | Adjust exposure |
Overlay Elements
The data overlay displays in real-time on your preview:
- Info Card: Date, time, coordinates, address
- Mini-map: Visual location context (optional)
- Compass: Heading indicator
- Custom Logo: Your branding (optional)
Taking Your First Photo
Step 1: Frame Your Subject
Position your device. The overlay updates live as you move.
Step 2: Tap to Focus (Optional)
Tap anywhere on the preview to set focus point. Slide up/down to adjust exposure.
Step 3: Add a Quick Note (Optional)
Tap the Note area on the overlay to add a site observation. You can type custom text or select from your Quick Note Templates for speed.
Step 4: Capture
Tap the shutter button. The photo saves immediately to your gallery with all metadata embedded.
Step 5: Review
Open Gallery → tap your photo → view the captured data permanently embedded in the image.
Recording Video
- Tap the video icon to switch modes (or swipe on the shutter).
- Tap record to start. The overlay displays live on the recording.
- Tap stop to finish.
- Video saves to gallery with embedded data throughout the clip.
Customizing the Overlay
Access Settings (Lens icon) to adjust:
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Project Profile | Switch between saved project presets |
| Project Name | Pre-filled from active profile |
| Client Name | Pre-filled from active profile |
| Font Pairing | Choose typography style |
| Map Style | Satellite, Standard, or None |
| Show/Hide Map | Toggle mini-map visibility |
| Custom Logo | Upload your branding image |
Creating PDF Reports
Generate a PDF from your captures:
- Open Gallery.
- Select photos (long-press to multi-select).
- Tap PDF on the floating action bar.
- Review the preview, then export or share.
Visual PDFs work on Lens Core. AI captions and executive summary require Lens Pro, Lens Trust, or an active trial with AI reports remaining. See PDF Reports.
Next Steps
- Add a custom logo: Settings → Branding → Add Logo
- Set project defaults: Settings → Project Name
- Explore video recording: Swipe to video mode
Content Credentials (C2PA)
Lens supports Hardware-Backed Content Credentials to prove your photos and videos are authentic.
Status: Lens is formally C2PA conformant at Max Assurance Level 1. Verification sites currently show "Lens App" (Self-Signed) with Trusted Timestamps until our production certificate from SSL.com (issuance in progress) is finalized.
Enrolling Your Device
- Go to Settings → Content Credentials.
- Toggle Content Credentials to ON (requires Lens Trust).
- Tap Enroll with Hardware Key.
- Wait for the status to change to "Enrolled (Hardware Backed)".
Once enrolled, every photo and video you capture is digitally signed by your device's secure hardware.
Signing limits & behavior
-
Photos
Photos are signed after processing. If signing fails (for example due to time tampering, certificate issues, or system limits), the photo is still saved to your library, and Lens shows a message like "Content Credentials failed, check Settings" so you know what happened. -
Videos
Videos are signed up to a safe size so your device stays responsive. Very long or extremely large videos may be saved without Content Credentials if signing would risk crashes or system instability, with a message such as "Video too large to sign, saved without Content Credentials". -
Signed archive copy
Because some apps strip Content Credentials when importing media, Lens keeps a signed master copy in your configured C2PA archive (iCloud Drive or On My iPhone). If there isn't enough space for this archive copy, Lens saves the capture but shows a warning like "Not enough storage to archive signed copy, saved without archive backup" so you can free space later.