Support
Write to support@semnia.com and you will get a real answer from the person who made the app.
Turning on the Safari extension
Semnia works without it. With it on, screenshots you take in Safari can reopen their page. iOS gives no way for an app to switch it on for you, so it is four taps in Settings:
- 1. Open the iPhone's Settings app
- 2. Apps → Safari → Extensions
- 3. Tap Semnia and switch it on
- 4. Allow it on All Websites
iOS warns that extensions can read and alter web pages. Semnia's reads the page address and the time, stores them on your phone, and alters nothing — the privacy policy says exactly what it records.
One thing to know: tabs that were already open before you switched the extension on announce nothing until their next navigation. Reload them, or just carry on — new pages are covered from that moment.
Questions
Does Semnia upload my screenshots anywhere?
No. There is no server to upload to. Reading the text, searching, and matching links all happen on your phone. The app works with no internet at all.
What's free, and what does it cost?
Everything works on your newest 500 screenshots, free — search, page links, topics, cards, the archive. One purchase — €9.99 — unlocks your whole library. No subscription, no ads.
Do I have to change how I take screenshots?
No. Take them as you always do. Next time you open Semnia, it reads what's new.
Why does one screenshot open its page and another not?
A link is attached only when there is real evidence: Safari (with the extension on) or the app's own browser saw that page around the moment you shot it. A green dot opens the exact page, a grey dot the site. No dot, no guess — the screenshot itself is always the record.
Which browsers get links?
Safari — the only browser iOS allows extensions in — and the app's built-in browser, which needs no setup. Screenshots from Chrome, Instagram, TikTok or any other app get no link; they are still read, searchable, and usable in topics and cards.
What happens when I change phones?
Settings → Archive gives you one file with everything the reading earned — text, links, topics, cards, crop lines — plus the few pictures whose originals are no longer in Photos. Move it to the new phone (AirDrop works) and import: the library reconnects instead of starting over. A normal iCloud or Quick Start transfer also carries the whole app.
How long does the first read take?
It scales with the library: measured, 3,300 screenshots in about 19 minutes on a recent iPhone. It reads newest first — this week's screenshots are searchable within the first minute — and the app stays fully usable while it runs. Leaving pauses it; opening the app resumes. It happens once.
I'm on cellular — will it use my data?
Screenshots already on the phone are read immediately, no network needed. Originals stored only in iCloud wait for Wi-Fi by default; one tap overrides that.
Which languages can it read?
Apple's on-device recognition. The script decides, not the language: Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, Devanagari, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai are covered; Hebrew, Greek and several other scripts are not readable on today's iOS. The app shows the exact list your device supports. Search finds words anywhere in a line, in every covered script.
Does it change or delete my photos?
Never. It only reads. Semnia keeps its own optimized copies — about 200 KB per screenshot — inside the app; your Photos library is untouched.
Is my library backed up?
It rides your normal iCloud or computer backup like any app, and the archive is the copy you carry yourself. There is no Semnia cloud — that is the point.
Which devices?
iPhone and iPad, iOS/iPadOS 26.0 or later.
Still stuck
Email support@semnia.com. Telling me what you expected and what happened instead is enough — no forms, no ticket number.