DM Scanner 3D

Support for DM Scanner 3D, the iPhone and iPad app for making 3D models you can open in Blender. If you don’t find your answer here, email josh@dependentmedia.com and a human will reply.

What you need

• Scan a scene needs a LiDAR scanner: iPhone Pro models from iPhone 12 Pro onward, or an iPad Pro with LiDAR.
• Scan a face needs a TrueDepth camera, which is any iPhone or iPad with Face ID.
• Capture an object needs a recent device that supports Apple’s Object Capture. The app tells you on the home screen if yours does not.

Quick start — scan a room

1. Open the app and tap Scan a scene. Allow camera access.
2. Frame the area, then press the big red Start button. Nothing is captured before you press it.
3. Move slowly. The mesh appears over the camera view as you go, and the palette figure shows how much of it has colour.
4. Tap Finish & export, choose your formats, and the scan appears at the top of the home screen.

Quick start — scan a face

1. Tap Scan a face and press Start. This uses the front camera, so you can see yourself.
2. Hold the phone at arm’s length in soft, even light. A cyan mesh locks onto the face.
3. Turn your head slowly left and right until each ear has faced the camera, then look up and down. The texture figure climbs as more of the face is seen straight-on.
4. Tap Finish & save.

Opening a scan in Blender

Open a scan and tap Share all files to AirDrop it to your Mac, or find it in the Files app under On My iPhone → DM Scanner. In Blender use File → Import and pick the OBJ, PLY or USD file (object captures are USDZ, which Blender opens as USD). Scans are already Z-up and in metres, so they arrive the right way round at real size.

• Share the whole set, not just the .obj. It needs its .mtl file beside it, and a face scan needs its texture .png too.
• To see a room scan’s colour in Blender, add a Color Attribute node to the material.

Frequently asked

Scanning outdoors doesn’t reach very far

The LiDAR scanner reaches about five metres indoors, and bright sunlight shortens that a lot, because it works with infrared light. Scan large places in several shorter passes, in shade or on an overcast day where you can.

My scan came out grey

Make sure Colour is switched on while scanning, and move slowly enough for the colour figure to climb. Very dark rooms capture little colour.

Where are my scans kept?

Only on your device. There is no account and nothing is uploaded. Deleting the app deletes your scans, so share the ones you want to keep first. See the privacy policy.

Contact

Email josh@dependentmedia.com or call (775) 238-3425.

Last updated: September 19, 2026

DM Scanner 3D is made by Dependent Media. It is an app for making 3D models of places, objects and faces with an iPhone or iPad. This policy explains what the app stores, what leaves your device, and what we can see.

We do not sell your data. We do not use advertising or analytics SDKs, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.

The short version

Everything DM Scanner 3D makes stays on your device. There is no account, no sign-in and no server. We never receive your scans, and we cannot see them. A scan leaves your device only when you choose to share it.

1. Data stored only on your device

Scans are saved in the app’s private storage: the 3D model files, a small preview picture, and the working data the app needs to reopen a scan later. None of it is uploaded to us. Deleting a scan in the app, or deleting the app, removes it.

2. Face data

The Scan a face mode uses the TrueDepth camera and Apple’s ARKit face tracking. It captures the shape of a face, depth measurements, and a photo texture, for one purpose only: to build the 3D model you asked for.

• Face data is processed on your device and stored only inside the app, as the scan you saved.
• It is never sent to Dependent Media or to any third party.
• It is never used to identify or authenticate anyone, and never for advertising, marketing, profiling or analytics.
• It is kept until you delete the scan. Deleting the app deletes every scan.

Only scan people who have agreed to it. If you scan a child, you are responsible for having a parent’s or guardian’s permission first.

3. Sharing

You can send a scan to another device or app with the share sheet, for example by AirDrop, or find it in the Files app. That happens only when you choose it. Once a file has been shared, what happens to it is governed by wherever you sent it.

4. Device permissions

Permission	Why
Camera	Capturing scans. This covers the rear cameras and LiDAR scanner, and the front TrueDepth camera for face scans

The app asks for nothing else: no location, no microphone, no contacts, no photo library, no network access.

5. Children’s privacy

DM Scanner 3D does not collect personal information from anyone, including children. It has no accounts and sends nothing to us.

6. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy we will update the date at the top.

7. Contact

Questions or concerns: Dependent Media — josh@dependentmedia.com