The Passport Photo App That Works in Your Browser

PhotoForPass is a web app: a website built to work like a phone app. It uses your phone's camera through the browser, after you allow camera access, and it fits your screen like a native app.

Because it lives on the web, there is nothing to download, nothing to update and no storage space used on your phone. The same app works on an iPhone, an Android phone, a tablet or a laptop, so you can start on one device and finish on another if you create an optional account.

It does the same job as a dedicated passport photo app. You choose your document, take or upload a photo, and the smart check measures face size, centering, tilt, eyes, mouth, lighting, shadows, blur and background on your device. After payment, we fix the lighting, replace the background with plain white, and size and crop the photo to the official rules. Your face is never retouched.

Every order includes up to 5 photo checks and 3 free redos per person, a 14-day money-back guarantee and a full refund if the agency rejects the photo. Final acceptance is up to the issuing agency.

Adding PhotoForPass to your home screen gives you an app icon that opens it full screen, without typing an address. It takes about 10 seconds.

iPhone and iPad (Safari)

1. Open photoforpass.com in Safari.
2. Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up).
3. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
4. Tap Add. The PhotoForPass icon now sits on your home screen.

Android (Chrome)

1. Open photoforpass.com in Chrome.
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner.
3. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app, depending on your Chrome version.
4. Confirm. The icon appears on your home screen or in your app drawer.

Other browsers, such as Samsung Internet or Firefox, have a similar option in their menu.

App store passport photo apps and a web app can both produce a compliant photo. They differ in convenience, pricing and where your photo goes.

To be fair to native apps: they can feel smoother with the camera, some work partly offline, and some offer prints mailed to your home. If those matter most to you, a native app may suit you better. If you want no install, any device and one clear price, a web app is simpler. Whichever you choose, read the app's privacy policy and check whether it charges per photo, per download or by subscription.

Some passport photo apps are free to download but charge to save the photo, remove a watermark or order prints. Free cropping apps can make a square photo, but most do not check the official rules for head size, eye line and background.

Here is exactly what is free with PhotoForPass and what is not. The photo checker is free: you can test as many photos as you like on your device. The edited photo is paid: $16.95 for the digital file or $18.95 with a 4x6 print sheet, with family packs at $29.95 for 2 people and $39.95 for 3. There is no subscription and no extra charge to download.

Any recent phone camera is good enough for a passport photo. What matters is how you use it.

Both platforms

• Use daylight from a window in front of you, not a lamp to the side.
• Ask someone to take the photo from about 4 feet away at eye level. A selfie at arm's length distorts the face and makes the nose look bigger.
• No helper? Prop the phone at eye level and use the 3 or 10 second timer.
• Keep the lens clean; a smudge makes the whole photo soft.

iPhone

• Use the regular Photo mode at 1x, not Portrait mode or the 0.5x ultra wide lens.
• Turn off filters and photographic styles that change skin tone.
• HEIC files are fine; PhotoForPass delivers a JPG either way.

Android

• Turn off beauty, face retouch or skin smoothing modes. Some cameras switch them on by default for the front camera.
• Turn off automatic scene enhancements that boost colors.
• Use the main rear camera if someone can take the photo for you; it is usually sharper than the front camera.