Is Furigana Reader free?
Yes, to start. The Free plan gives you 3 scans a day, and 3 more for each short ad you choose to watch, up to 18 a day. It has banner ads and no AI Explain. Every plan has furigana, romaji and meanings, READING on the photo, read aloud, flashcards and Anki export.
What do Plus and Pro give, and what are the limits?
Plus is $3.99 a month: 50 scans and 15 AI Explains a day, and no ads. Pro is $9.99 a month: unlimited scans, 50 AI Explains a day, up to 10 photos at once, cloud sync, and no ads. Free and Plus read up to 3 photos at once. History shows your last 20 scans on Free and your last 100 on Plus, and all of them on Pro; older scans are kept and come back when you upgrade. Free keeps up to 3 folders. Prices are in US dollars, and the App Store shows the price in your currency.
Does it work offline, without internet?
Yes. Scans are read on your phone, with Apple's on-device Japanese OCR and a Japanese dictionary built into the app, so scanning, furigana, romaji, meanings, READING, read aloud, your words and flashcards all work without a connection. AI Explain, cloud sync and signing in need the internet.
Are my photos private?
Your photos are read on your phone and stay there. They are never uploaded to our cloud, even with cloud sync, which keeps your words, folders and scans but not the photos. The app counts how it is used with Google Analytics for Firebase, but never what you scan: no photos, no Japanese text, no words. On the Free plan, ads are shown by Google AdMob, which may collect device identifiers. See the Privacy Policy.
What does AI Explain send, and where?
Only the photo of the scan you choose to explain, when you tap AI Explain. It goes to Google's Gemini, through Firebase, which sends back a natural translation, the meanings in context and grammar notes. The app asks for your OK before the first one. Google may use these photos to improve its products, so don't explain photos with personal details, such as ID cards or medical papers.
Why is AI Explain not available in my country?
AI Explain is not available in the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, where Google's terms ask for a paid service. It follows the country of your App Store account, not where you are. Everything else in the app works there.
Which devices does it work on? Is there an Android version?
Furigana Reader works on iPhone, iPad, and Macs with Apple silicon, from the App Store. There is no Android version.
Does my plan work on my other devices?
Yes, on devices that use the same Apple Account. If your plan doesn't show, tap Restore on the plans screen. To keep your words, folders and scans the same on every device, Pro has cloud sync: sign in with Apple or Google in the app. Photos stay on the device they were taken on.
I used version 1. Are my words and scans still there?
Yes. Your words, scans and folders from version 1 come with you when you update to 2.0. If you subscribed to Plus before version 2.0, Plus keeps AI on every scan, as 50 AI Explains a day.
How do I cancel a subscription?
Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, tap your name, then Subscriptions, then Furigana Reader, then Cancel Subscription. You keep your plan until the end of the period you paid for. Deleting your account does not cancel a subscription.
How do I delete my account?
In the app, open the account screen and tap Delete account. This deletes your account and everything saved to it in the cloud. You can also ask us: see Delete Account.
Can it read vertical text and handwriting?
Yes. Vertical text is read, and you can switch a scan between Across and Down. Handwriting is read too, but less reliably than print, so take the photo close and straight, in good light.
Are the readings and meanings always right?
Not always. The readings of common words are usually right; names of people and places are the hardest. The meanings read on the phone are dictionary meanings, word by word, from JMdict, and can miss the meaning in context. AI Explain on Plus and Pro gives the meanings in context and a natural translation.
Who makes Furigana Reader?
Available Company Limited. For help, or to ask for a feature, email availablecompanylimited@gmail.com.