Why was CamScanner considered Unsafe?
Since it was available in the PlayStore and AppStore, there
have been multiple questions on the safety of the CamScanner application. Multiple
cybersecurity firms have established the presence of
Trojan-Dropper in the Android version of the application. This
Trojan dropper is known to download certain files into the
user’s device that lets hackers have access to the system’s
operation.
When these claims were proven, it prompted Google to
take down the application from PlayStore. This was in August
2019. CamScanner is a Chinese application, and the makers were
prompt in acting on the complaint. Within the next month, an
updated version of the app was introduced in PlayStore.
However, from that point onwards, multiple government
and private bodies were sceptical about the CamScanner. Over
the next couple of years, data breach incidents were observed,
and this is why it led the Indian government to ban the usage
of this app in June 2020. The act was followed by the United
States, encouraging a similar ban since January 2021.
Recent make in India initiatives has encouraged the development
of mobile applications. Today, there are alternate mobile
applications available for all the 59 apps that were banned by
the Indian government. For Cam Scanner, the best alternative application
is that of Kaagaz, which was indigenously developed by a team
of alumni from IIT Kanpur.
The app has won multiple accolades from various
government bodies, including the Ministry of Education. The
Kaagaz app has provided a one-stop solution to all of the
security and convenience needs of the average Indian.
The Kaagaz app is a major boost in the field of mobile image
scanning. It brings together the simplicity of the CamScanner
with the added security features. While using an image scanner
application on a handheld device, most people struggle with
trimming the edges in a picture-perfect way.
Improperly trimmed edges give the scanned document an
unprofessional look and are often unaccepted in professional
places. With Kaagaz, this is no longer a cause of worry as the
app automatically trims the edges and gives a superior scanning
experience.
Depending on the type of image or document that you
wish to scan, you can decide on the mode of scanning. While the
traditional original mode is helpful for most type of scanning,
for older pictures or those in vintage style, you can always go
for grey or black and white mode. Magic colour mode 1 and 2 are
helpful for situations when you want advanced colour correction
and editing while scanning an image.
Irrespective of whether you are scanning an image or
a document, you will have the provision of saving it as PDF or
JPEG. The files can then be safely shared over any social media
portal or email. You also have the luxury of saving the file on
your device and the same can then be revoked as and when
necessary.
The Kaagaz scanner is an Indian image scanning app,
and its speciality is the fact that it is available in multiple
Indian languages. With Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi,
Kannada and Malayalam interfaces, language is no longer a
barrier to the usage of the document scanning app.
The primary reason for the widespread popularity of the Kaagaz
app is the fact that it offers much safer data encryption and
protects user data. The general setup is such that any image
that you scan is stored in the device memory. If the user
deliberately wants to save it in the cloud, then the tool
encrypts the scanned image and uploads it to the secure
servers.
When a user starts using the Kaagaz app, the app asks
for permission to access the files stored on the device.
Understand that a user can refuse to share the information if
they want. If a user uploads a document in Kaagaz cloud
services, they need to explicitly allow access to the said
file.
When a user signs on to the Kaagaz app with their
Gmail account, the app only gets access to basic profile
information such as the name and email id. The Kaagaz user
profile is created with the basic details collected from Gmail.
In such a situation, whatever details that you store in the
Kaagaz cloud storage will be accessible to the signed-in user
account.
In the third situation, wherein the user logs in with
their phone number, the account is created solely with this
information. The basic concept of access to the Kaagaz cloud
remains unaltered. Understand that this app requires you to
authenticate yourself with the phone password, followed by a
unique app password.
Thus, you see that the multi-layer security system
gives users complete control over the type of data that is
being shared. This makes the Kaagaz app one of the safest apps
in PlayStore today. An iOS version of the Kaagaz app is also
available at the moment and that is just as secure as the
Android version.
The Kaagaz app is one of the highest-rated apps in PlayStore
and has an average rating of 4.5. With 45,555 people rating the
app, the 4.5 rating is highly commendable. Some users have
commented on how they use the app to convert their texts to
PDFs.
With COVID-19 bringing classrooms to a digital
platform, such an app is of special advantage to the student
community. Multiple reviews on PlayStore commented on the easy
user interface of the Kaagaz app and how they did not take much
time to settle in and use the app regularly.
Also, reviews state that, unlike most other scanning
apps, there is no degradation in quality when the images are
imported. Multiple mentions of the good quality UI/ UX
establish the credibility of the app.
The provision of adjusting the borders after the
actual scanning helps simplify the life of users and this is
mentioned in multiple reviews. While some of the reviews do
mention a certain scope of improvement, the fact is most users
of the Kaagaz app are satisfied with the service.