Unknown Numbers: "Take a Picture to Search"; Photos: "Hide Before Sending". HOBEEC Co., Ltd. Releases Two AI Life Defense Apps
HOBEEC Co., Ltd. has released two AI-powered iPhone apps, "Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number" and "Hide Before Sending." "Take a Picture to Search" reads and searches phone numbers from images, while "Hide Before Sending" detects and conceals personal information in photos using AI, aiming to reduce daily anxieties.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 20:10
- 🔍 Collected: May 7, 2026 at 11:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 8, 2026 at 01:43 (14h 11m after Collected)
HOBEEC Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Sho Yarimizu) has released new iPhone apps, "Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number" and "Hide Before Sending," on the App Store, utilizing smartphone cameras and AI.
"Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number" is an app that allows AI to read phone numbers from paper, flyers, landline call history screens, smartphone screenshots, etc., and search them directly. You can check unknown, suspicious, or potentially fraudulent numbers without manual input.
"Hide Before Sending" is an app that uses AI to detect information that should not be shown, such as faces, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, URLs, QR codes, barcodes, and long numbers, in photos and screenshots before sending them to someone, and then blacks out or mosaics them.
Common to both apps is the use of AI not as something special, but as a tool to reduce small daily anxieties.
Before trusting an unknown number, take a picture and check it.
Before sending photos or screenshots, hide information you don't want to show.
The goal is to make it easy for all smartphone users to perform checks before calling back, believing, or sending.
AI detects information you don't want to show in photos and screenshots, and you can black out or mosaic it.
AI detects personal information in photos and screenshots before sending.
The iPhone app "Hide Before Sending" automatically detects personal information such as faces, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, URLs, QR codes, barcodes, and long numbers in photos and screenshots using its built-in AI, and can black out or mosaic them. You can check and edit photos before posting to SNS, sharing with family and friends, or sending work screens, to ensure no unwanted information is visible.
It can read phone numbers in images and search them on Google or Yahoo! after confirming candidates.
Take a picture of an unknown phone number and search it directly.
The iPhone app "Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number" uses its built-in AI to read phone numbers appearing in landline call history, paper notes, flyers, screenshots, etc., and allows you to search after confirming candidates. It reduces the hassle of manual input and input errors, making it easier to check unknown or suspicious numbers.
■ Background: Fraud starting with phone calls, personal information risks spreading through photos.
In Japan today, fraud triggered by phone calls and SNS, and the risk of personal information leakage from photos and screenshots, have become familiar anxieties for everyone.
According to the "Status of Recognition and Arrests of Special Fraud as of the End of March 2026 (Provisional Value)" announced by the National Police Agency on May 1, 2026, the number of recognized special fraud cases reached 11,093, with damages amounting to 93.79 billion yen as of the end of March 2026. Compared to the same period last year, both the number of recognized cases and the amount of damages have significantly increased.
In this situation, actions such as "not trusting an unknown phone number as is" and "checking before calling back" are becoming habits for many smartphone users, rather than special crime prevention awareness.
"Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number" is an app that allows you to quickly look up unknown phone numbers without having to manually enter them while checking the screen.
On the other hand, opportunities to send photos and screenshots have also increased. Photos sent to family, images posted on SNS, screens shared with business partners, images used on flea market apps or inquiry forms. In one such image, without the sender realizing it, names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, school names, workplaces, order numbers, notification contents, documents in the background, etc., may be included.
Recently, there have also been reports of incidents on SNS where business screens, name tags, whiteboards, documents, related party information, location information, etc., were visible in photos and videos taken and posted in workplaces, schools, stores, and public places, causing problems. Furthermore, there are risks that living areas and personal information can be inferred from casual inclusions in indoor photos, views outside windows, receipts, delivery slips, and screen notifications.
Photos and screenshots do not always convey only the information intended by the sender. Therefore, it is crucial to check "if any unwanted information is visible" before posting to SNS, sharing photos, or sending work screens.
The Personal Information Protection Commission also warns about GPS information and consideration for people in photos when posting to SNS. "Hide Before Sending" responds to these anxieties of the times, making it easy to check before sending photos and screenshots.
iPhone App "Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number"
iPhone App "Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number"
App Store URL:
https://apps.apple.
"Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number" is an app that allows AI to read phone numbers from paper, flyers, landline call history screens, smartphone screenshots, etc., and search them directly. You can check unknown, suspicious, or potentially fraudulent numbers without manual input.
"Hide Before Sending" is an app that uses AI to detect information that should not be shown, such as faces, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, URLs, QR codes, barcodes, and long numbers, in photos and screenshots before sending them to someone, and then blacks out or mosaics them.
Common to both apps is the use of AI not as something special, but as a tool to reduce small daily anxieties.
Before trusting an unknown number, take a picture and check it.
Before sending photos or screenshots, hide information you don't want to show.
The goal is to make it easy for all smartphone users to perform checks before calling back, believing, or sending.
AI detects information you don't want to show in photos and screenshots, and you can black out or mosaic it.
AI detects personal information in photos and screenshots before sending.
The iPhone app "Hide Before Sending" automatically detects personal information such as faces, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, URLs, QR codes, barcodes, and long numbers in photos and screenshots using its built-in AI, and can black out or mosaic them. You can check and edit photos before posting to SNS, sharing with family and friends, or sending work screens, to ensure no unwanted information is visible.
It can read phone numbers in images and search them on Google or Yahoo! after confirming candidates.
Take a picture of an unknown phone number and search it directly.
The iPhone app "Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number" uses its built-in AI to read phone numbers appearing in landline call history, paper notes, flyers, screenshots, etc., and allows you to search after confirming candidates. It reduces the hassle of manual input and input errors, making it easier to check unknown or suspicious numbers.
■ Background: Fraud starting with phone calls, personal information risks spreading through photos.
In Japan today, fraud triggered by phone calls and SNS, and the risk of personal information leakage from photos and screenshots, have become familiar anxieties for everyone.
According to the "Status of Recognition and Arrests of Special Fraud as of the End of March 2026 (Provisional Value)" announced by the National Police Agency on May 1, 2026, the number of recognized special fraud cases reached 11,093, with damages amounting to 93.79 billion yen as of the end of March 2026. Compared to the same period last year, both the number of recognized cases and the amount of damages have significantly increased.
In this situation, actions such as "not trusting an unknown phone number as is" and "checking before calling back" are becoming habits for many smartphone users, rather than special crime prevention awareness.
"Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number" is an app that allows you to quickly look up unknown phone numbers without having to manually enter them while checking the screen.
On the other hand, opportunities to send photos and screenshots have also increased. Photos sent to family, images posted on SNS, screens shared with business partners, images used on flea market apps or inquiry forms. In one such image, without the sender realizing it, names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, school names, workplaces, order numbers, notification contents, documents in the background, etc., may be included.
Recently, there have also been reports of incidents on SNS where business screens, name tags, whiteboards, documents, related party information, location information, etc., were visible in photos and videos taken and posted in workplaces, schools, stores, and public places, causing problems. Furthermore, there are risks that living areas and personal information can be inferred from casual inclusions in indoor photos, views outside windows, receipts, delivery slips, and screen notifications.
Photos and screenshots do not always convey only the information intended by the sender. Therefore, it is crucial to check "if any unwanted information is visible" before posting to SNS, sharing photos, or sending work screens.
The Personal Information Protection Commission also warns about GPS information and consideration for people in photos when posting to SNS. "Hide Before Sending" responds to these anxieties of the times, making it easy to check before sending photos and screenshots.
iPhone App "Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number"
iPhone App "Take a Picture to Search a Phone Number"
App Store URL:
https://apps.apple.