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Tech Check with Todd Chance is a new series on the Morning Mix dedicated to stripping away the complexity of the digital world. If you remember floppy disks and dial-up internet, you might feel like all the new advancements in technology are coming too fast and without a lot of guidance.
The goal is simple: to help you navigate the rapid pace of modern technology with confidence rather than confusion. Whether it’s demystifying the latest AI tools, protecting your privacy, or finding clever ways to save time and money, we want to showcase tech as a solution, not a source of stress. In this series, we tackle the topics that matter most to your daily life, providing practical, step-by-step guides to help you master the devices in your pocket, home, or car.
This episdode deals with something most of us have... a shoebox full of old photos. Family vacations. Weddings. Pictures of parents and grandparents you never want to lose.
But physical photographs are fragile. Time fades them. Water damages them. And one accident — a basement flood, house fire, or even years in a humid closet — can destroy memories that can never truly be replaced.
The good news is that preserving those memories is easier than many people realize, and you don’t need expensive equipment or risky websites to do it.
A natural instinct is to search online for a service that promises to “restore your photos for free.” But that can come with risks. Many of these websites aren’t really free. Some ask you to upload your family photos, then demand payment to download the final version. Others collect personal information or could use your photos to train AI.
That doesn’t mean every online service is dangerous. But when it comes to irreplaceable family memories, it’s often safer to stick with trusted tools from companies you already know.
One of the easiest and safest ways to preserve old photos is simply by using your smartphone. Most people try taking a regular picture of a photograph and quickly notice problems like glare, reflections, shadows, or faded colors. That’s where a free app called PhotoScan by Google can help. It is available for download on both Android (via Google Play) and iOS (via App Store)
PhotoScan works almost like a portable flatbed scanner for your phone. Instead of snapping one quick picture, the app captures several angles and combines them together to remove glare and reflections automatically. The result is often dramatically cleaner than a normal phone photo.
Using it is simple. Place the photo on a flat surface with soft lighting, preferably near a window. Open the app, follow the dots on the screen as instructed, and within seconds you’ll have a much cleaner digital copy of your original photograph.
Once the photo is safely saved digitally, you can improve it even further if you'd like. Many older photos fade over time. Colors may shift toward yellow or orange, and details become difficult to see.
Modern phones already include surprisingly powerful tools to help fix that.
Inside the Google Photos app, users can tap “Edit” and then “Enhance” to automatically improve brightness, contrast, color balance, and sharpness. Sometimes the difference is remarkable. Faces become clearer, clothing details return, and faded memories suddenly feel vivid again.
Newer iPhones also include built-in editing tools that can improve lighting and clarity directly inside the Photos app. Some models can even remove small distractions, scratches, or stains from a picture using artificial intelligence.
But those tools should be used carefully.
AI repair tools work best for small cleanup jobs like dust spots, scratches, or stains. If you ask them to remove large sections of a photo, the results can begin to look unnatural. Faces, hands, or clothing details can become distorted. The safest approach is to use these tools to restore a memory — not rewrite it.
And for people facing a much larger project, there’s another resource many overlook completely: the local library!
Many libraries now offer high-quality scanners, slide digitizers, VHS-to-digital equipment, and media conversion stations. Some even provide trained staff who can help people safely handle old photographs and media without damaging them further.
For families with boxes of old slides, VHS tapes, or aging photographs, these community resources can be safer, more affordable, and far less intimidating than mailing irreplaceable memories to an unknown company online.
Technology should make preserving memories easier — not more stressful. And today, one of the safest and simplest ways to protect your family history may already be sitting in your pocket or purse.
Have an idea for a Tech Check segment? Want to reach out to Todd directly? Email: todd.chance@fox17online.com
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