Top 7 Apps for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

In 2025, there is a world of accessibility apps available at our fingertips. Besides iPhone and Android’s built-in accessibility features (like Dark Mode, voice control, or digital payment platforms like Apple Wallet), there are many specialized apps designed for people who are blind.  

Specialty apps take those accessibility features a few steps further through things like organization systems powered by AI recognition, programs that improve personal safety, and systems that make it easier for people with low vision to connect with the world around them.  

In this guide, the Ability Central team has collected 7 of the best apps available in 2024 for people who are blind or visually impaired. These include: 

• Best Low-Vision App for Everyday Help: Be My Eyes (and Be My AI) 

• Best Low-Vision App for Critical Information: AIRA 

• Best Low-Vision App for Travel: OKO by Ayes 

• Best Low-Vision App for Photos: SelfieX 

• Best Low-Vision App for Reading: EasyReader  

• Best Low-Vision App for Real-Time Camera Description: Seeing AI 

• Best Low-Vision App for Meals: Portions Master 

Best Low-Vision App for Everyday Help: Be My Eyes (and Be My AI) 

Be My Eyes is a free app designed to make everyday life easier for people with low vision or blindness. Using the camera and video conferencing, Be My Eyes connects users with volunteer staff all over the world, who can help with anything from identifying clothing sizes, to setting up an online account, to learning how to use a new TV remote. Volunteers speak more than 185 languages and are available 24/7.  

In 2023, the company also introduced Be My AI, an AI-powered version accessible from the same app, which allows for more immediate responses without having to wait for a volunteer connection. Be My AI creates near-instant visual description that can be played back as audio in 36 different languages.  

Be My Eyes also offers an in-app Service Directory (kind of like the Ability Central Service Locator tool), which can connect users with organizations offering products and services for people with low vision. 

Check out Be My Eyes on the App Store or the Google Play Store.  

Best Low-Vision App for Critical Information: Aira Explorer 

Aira Explorer, previously called Aira, follows a similar approach to Be My Eyes. It connects users (which they call “Explorers”) with sighted guides (called “Visual Interpreters”) who are specially trained to assist people with vision disabilities. When an Explorer connects to a Visual Interpreter, the app can transmit info from the phone camera and microphone, as well as web-based functionality like search terms or GPS locations.  

Because Aira Explorer’s Visual Interpreters receive specialized training, the app only offers paid subscriptions for real-time interpretation services. The amount an Explorer pays depends on the services they need to access, so the price of the actual subscription can vary. Aira Explorer also includes a free AI version called Access AI, available in the same app with or without a subscription. 

Download Aira for iPhone or for Android. 

Best Low-Vision App for Travel: OKO by Ayes 

OKO is an AI-powered app that gives by-the-second navigation based on your phone’s camera, microphone, and GPS information. Before you start your journey, you can search for your location on OKO to receive detailed, turn-by-turn directions. And while you’re walking, you can get real-time AI assistance by raising your phone.  

OKO can point out things like crosswalk signals, other pedestrians, and oncoming vehicles. It also provides additional information anytime you approach a crosswalk, like how long it takes to cross or how much time before the signals change.  

Right now, OKO is only available on iPhone, but there is a similar service for Android called Moovit that provides bus and train schedules as well as real-time navigation.  

Best Low-Vision App for Photos: SelfieX 

If you have low vision or blindness, you might be wondering why we included a photography app on this list. The answer is all about social time: if you’re traveling, hanging out with friends, or attending an important event, you may want to take photos to share with loved ones later.  

SelfieX is a unique, free app that allows you to use your phone’s back camera for well-positioned shots. Using voice commands, the app gives instructions for how to frame your photo, then automatically snaps the picture when you’re in the right position—and it’ll tell you to “Say Cheese!” before it does! You can also edit photos directly in the app, like cropping the photo, changing brightness, or upping the contrast.  

Check out SelfieX on the App Store or Auto Selfie Camera, an equivalent app for Android users.  

Best Low-Vision App for Reading: EasyReader  

Dolphin EasyReader is a free app designed for not only for people with low vision or blindness, but also for people with dyslexia. The app provides quick access to audiobook libraries, popular news outlets, and more.  

What makes this app so great is its ability to customize. Users with low vision can magnify, highlight, or change the contrast of words on the screen for a wide range of file types. For people who read via audio, you can also change the way certain words are pronounced, pick your favorite reading voice, and adjust reading speed. The audio syncs to an automatic highlighter, so people with low vision or dyslexia can follow along via text while the app reads the words out loud. 

Check out Dolphin EasyReader for iPhone here or for Android here.  

Best Low-Vision App for Real-Time Camera Description: Seeing AI 

Seeing AI is Microsoft’s answer to real-time visual interpretation apps, but what sets it apart from other apps is its specialization in reading text. Using your phone’s camera, the app can detect and read out loud everything from handwritten letters to paper money.  

One other cool feature is its barcode ability: you can scan any product barcode with your phone’s camera and Seeing AI will look up and read aloud all the product information you need. And don’t worry about getting the barcode into the shot—the app offers audio cues to help guide your camera.  

Seeing AI is available for both iPhone and Android. 

Best Low-Vision App for Meals: Portions Master 

Finally, let’s end with a creative app: Portions Master, a program that helps people who are blind or visually impaired manage a healthy diet. Powered by AI technology, Portions Master identifies the food you’ve put on your plate. It can provide the name of each dish or ingredient, often with detailed nutrition facts.  

For more diet-focused users, Portions Master can log meals, connect you with an AI health coach or personal trainer, and track things like calories and macros. The app can also be hugely useful for blind or visually impaired users who have food allergies by identifying potentially harmful ingredients—like shellfish or nuts, for example.  

Portions Master is available on the App Store and the Google Play Store. 

What’s Next? 

What other apps would you like to see on our lists? At Ability Central, we’re always on the lookout for services and programs that offer support to people with communication disabilities.

For more info about local nonprofits or organizations serving people with vision disabilities, check out the Ability Central Service Locator tool.