In the app, Settings › Send Feedback starts the email for you, with the app's version and your device already filled in.
Many answers are below, and the help pages show the editor step by step.
- Masks: select the sky, draw a gradient or paint with a brush.
- Heal and clone: take out dust, spots and wires.
- LUTs and Lightroom presets: make a film from a .cube LUT or a preset, or export your film as one.
- Light: brighten a dark face.
- Describe Edits: say how the photo should look, and the sliders move for you.
- Develop a photo again: apply any film to a photo you've already taken.
Common questions
Which devices are supported?
Chobial runs on any iPhone or iPad with iOS 26 or later, and on iPhone Duo. Pro iPhones from the 12 Pro shoot Apple ProRAW. Other cameras shoot Bayer RAW on the lenses that offer it, and HEIF where there's no RAW. You can switch to HEIF or JPEG any time. Camera Control and the Apple Watch remote are iPhone only.
Chobial for Android is in a closed beta on Google Play, for phones with Android 12 or later. You can join on the beta page. Android doesn't have iCloud sync, the Apple Watch remote or ProRAW. It also doesn't have Camera Control, Siri and Shortcuts, or the iPhone Duo and iPad layouts.
Is it really free?
Yes, many things are free with no time limit:
- Shooting and developing.
- Making and sharing films.
- Editing light, colour and crop.
- Trying masks, heal and clone.
- Browsing your photos.
Saving or sharing a finished photo is also free in 22 of the 46 films. Ten of them are Standard, Soft, Chrome, Portrait, Bleach, Mono and its three filters, and Sepia. The other 12 are Wedding, Holiday, Eighties, Aerial, Snapshot, Cool, Night, Daylight, Projection, Landscape, Clear and Press. It's free in any film you make from one of them, or from scratch, too.
Chobial Pro saves in every other film, including films made from a Pro one. It saves photos edited with masks, heal and clone. Pro also adds:
- The original DNG.
- Saving many photos at once.
- Saving every shot automatically.
- Reels of your edits.
- Film collages.
- .cube LUT and Lightroom preset export.
Pro is a one-time purchase or a yearly plan with a free week. Anything locked shows a padlock and says why.
I bought Chobial on another device. How do I restore it?
On the Chobial Pro screen, tap Restore at the top right. On iPhone and iPad, sign in with the same Apple Account you bought with. On Android, use the same Google account. Each purchase works only in the store you bought it from. So Pro bought on the App Store doesn't work on Google Play.
Where are my photos stored?
Chobial keeps every capture's original inside the app on your device. That's the RAW, ProRAW, HEIF or JPEG file. While Settings › Sync Photos is on, the original is also kept in Chobial's own space in your iCloud. To take a RAW or ProRAW negative out, export it as RAW to get the original DNG. Exported photos go to your Photos library.
On Android, originals stay inside Chobial on your phone, and they don't sync. Exported photos go to the phone's gallery. Your photos only go to your own devices and your own iCloud.
Why don't my films appear on my other iPhone or iPad?
Films sync through your iCloud. Check that both devices are signed in to the same Apple Account, and that iCloud Drive is on. Also check that Chobial is allowed to use iCloud in Settings. A new film can take a minute to arrive.
Why don't my photos appear on my other iPhone or iPad?
Photos sync only while Settings › Sync Photos is on. It's on unless someone turned it off, so check it on each device. Both devices need the same Apple Account and room in iCloud storage. A photo appears once its whole original has downloaded. For a large library on mobile data, that can take a while. The line under the switch shows what's still uploading or downloading.
A friend's film code won't scan
Hold the code flat so that it fills about a third of the frame. If you have the code as a picture, like a screenshot of a post, use Scan from a Picture instead of the live scanner. If the app says the code is from a newer version, update Chobial. On iPhone and iPad, update in the App Store. On Android, update in Google Play.
Can I shoot HEIF or JPEG instead of RAW?
Yes. Tap the format beside the island. You can also choose it with the Format tile in Controls, or in Settings › Format. HEIF and JPEG are cleaner in the dark and smaller. They leave less room to edit, but you can still develop them again in any film later. When you export, you choose JPEG, HEIC or RAW. The export sheet shows the exact pixel size you'll get.
Does Chobial add a watermark?
No. Chobial never prints its name or a logo on your photos. There's an optional frame that puts the photo on a mat, with your caption and the film and camera settings if you want them. It comes in five styles:
- Label: a mat with the caption and the shot's details under the photo.
- Border: a plain, even mat, or one that pads the photo out to a shape like 4:5.
- Instant: a wide mat with the photo sitting a little high, like an instant print.
- Film Card: the film's settings under the photo, and a code that loads the film.
- Negative: the photo on black, as a strip of 35 mm film with sprocket holes.
The mat can keep the photo's shape or fit it to one like 4:5, and its corners can be rounded. Each style keeps its own settings, so when you go back to one, it's as you left it. The frame is off unless you choose a style. To choose one, tap Frame when you export, or go to Settings › Caption Frame. Off is the first tile, so you can turn the frame off for any single export. The original DNG never has it.
How do I save or share a photo?
Open the photo and tap Export. The panel shows the photo as it will be saved. Double-tap or pinch it to look closer. Under it are tiles for the Frame, the Caption, the Location, the Format (JPEG, HEIC or RAW) and the Size. Caption prints the photo's caption on the frame, and you can change the words for this export only. Then tap Save to Photos, or Share to send it somewhere else.
To copy the photo, touch and hold it in the panel and choose Copy. You can then paste it into a message or another app. Share is in the same menu. When you export many photos, choose Share This Photo there to send just that one.
Does a shared photo say where it was taken?
Only if you want it to. The Location switch on the export sheet is off by default. So saved and shared photos leave out the GPS position. Turn the switch on when you want to keep it. Photos saved automatically as you shoot keep their location, the same as in the Camera app.
Can I use the films on photos I already have?
Yes. In the Library, tap Import Photos and pick photos from Photos or Files. It takes RAW, ProRAW, HEIF and JPEG photos, from Chobial, another app or another camera. Every film works on them, the same as on photos you shoot in Chobial. The original is kept, so you can develop the photo again in another film later. RAW and ProRAW give the film the most to work with, because they have no look added yet.
Can I develop photos from my Fujifilm, Sony, Canon or Nikon?
Yes. Import Photos takes RAW files from most cameras, such as Fujifilm RAF, Sony ARW, Canon CR3 and Nikon NEF. It takes HEIF and JPEG photos from any camera too.
You can copy the files to Files first, or import straight from the camera. Connect the camera or a card reader with a USB cable. Then tap Import Photos and pick it under Cameras and Cards. Photos you've already imported are marked, so you can bring in just the new ones.
If Chobial can't read a camera's RAW file, it tells you why. You can import that camera's JPEG instead.
On a camera or card, Select New picks the photos you haven't imported yet, and Select All picks every one.
The import screen shows each photo as it comes in. To keep using the app during a long import, tap Hide, and a small bar shows how far it has got. Tap the bar to see the import again, or Stop to end it after the photo it's on.
Can I pick all the photos in the library at once?
Yes. Tap Select, then Select All at the top. When every photo is picked, the same button becomes Deselect All. You can also tap the circle beside a day to pick that whole day.
Can I keep my favourite films at the top?
Yes. In Films, tap the star on a film. Starred films come first in the list and in the strip of films. Favorites at the top of Films shows only those. To change their order, tap ⇅ at the top right and drag them. Favorites are put in order among themselves, ahead of the rest.
Can I change what the camera's buttons do?
Yes, in Settings › Buttons. Beside the Shutter sets the round button next to the shutter. It's Flash until you change it. You can make it the Format, the Film, the Timer, Exposure, the Frame, the Grid, the Level, the Histogram or Live Film, or nothing. On an iPhone with a Dynamic Island, you can also choose what each side of the island does. Flash moves to Controls when no button has it.
The volume buttons take a picture on iPhone, iPad and Android. On iPhone, Camera Control does too. On Android, holding a volume button locks focus and exposure.
For a self-timer, tap the Timer tile in Controls. It waits 3 or 10 seconds before it takes the picture.
Can I edit a photo by describing it?
Yes, with Describe Edits. Open a photo, tap Describe Edits, and type or say what you want, like "warmer, darker sky". Chobial moves its own sliders, and you can change or undo each move. It works on devices with Apple Intelligence and on Android phones with Gemini Nano. The request is worked out on your device. How Describe Edits works
Can Chobial open on my photos instead of the camera?
Yes. Turn on Settings › Open Gallery at Launch. Chobial then opens on your library when you start it from its icon. Tap the camera button at the top left to start shooting. Widgets, shortcuts and Siri still open the screen they're for.
How do I suggest a film for the app?
Open the film and choose Submit to Chobial. Or email a .chobial file to [email protected]. When we pick a film, we credit its maker by name.