PhoneWeb NotesUploading ID photos from a phone
SNOW’s verification upload takes JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC or PDF files up to 10 MB. A straight-from-camera phone photo almost always fits. What most people miss is that the same file can carry the GPS coordinates of where it was taken. Here is the whole sequence, from camera settings to cleaning up afterwards.
What the upload accepts, and when you will be asked
Article 4 of the terms says verification is requested on first use of bank deposits or withdrawals, once cumulative deposits and withdrawals reach about USD 2,000, or when activity looks unusual. The file is then chosen in the verification window inside your account. This is where each accepted type comes from on a phone:
| File | Where a phone makes it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HEIC | iPhone camera set to High Efficiency (the default); some Android phones with high-efficiency pictures on | Accepted, so no conversion needed |
| JPG / JPEG | iPhone set to Most Compatible; the default on most Android cameras | Upload as it is |
| PNG | Screenshots | Saved at screen resolution, so text is softer than in the camera original. Prefer the original |
| Document scanning in iPhone Notes or Files, or Google Drive | For paper documents, or several pages in one file | |
| Not on the list | iPhone ProRAW (DNG), WEBP saved by some apps, video and the motion part of Live Photos | Retake or re-save as JPG or HEIC |
iPhone: format and file size
- Go to Settings › Camera › Formats and see whether High Efficiency (HEIC) or Most Compatible (JPG) is selected. Both are accepted, so there is nothing to change.
- If ProRAW is on (Pro models), turn it off while you photograph the card. A ProRAW file is a DNG, which is not accepted, and runs to tens of megabytes.
- Open the photo in Photos and swipe up, or tap ⓘ. The format, resolution and file size are shown there, so you can confirm it is under 10 MB.
Portrait and Night modes tend to smear the edges of printed text or use long exposures that blur. The plain Photo mode is the better choice.
Android: format and file size
- In the camera app’s settings, look for a high-efficiency (HEIF) picture option. On Samsung Galaxy phones it sits under Advanced picture options; when it is on, photos are saved as HEIC, and when it is off, as JPG. Either is accepted.
- Open the photo in Google Photos and swipe up: the details panel shows the file size. In Samsung Gallery, swipe up or tap ⓘ (Details).
- When Chrome’s file picker offers Camera, a photo taken there follows your camera settings. For a photo you already took, choose Files or Photos instead.
If Pro mode is saving RAW files, check that a JPG is saved alongside and upload that one.
Sending the photo without its GPS location
When the camera has location permission, every photo stores the coordinates of where it was taken. ID cards are usually photographed at home, so those coordinates are your home. Whether a browser upload removes them depends on the OS and browser version, so it is safer to remove them yourself first.
| Approach | iPhone | Android |
|---|---|---|
| Turn it off before shooting | Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera › Never | Camera settings › Location tags (Samsung) or Save location (Pixel), off |
| Remove it afterwards | In Photos, open the picture, tap ⓘ, then Adjust next to the map › No Location | Some gallery apps can remove location from the details screen. If yours cannot, turn location off and retake |
| Leave it out when sending | Options at the top of the share sheet › Location, off (applies only when sending through the share sheet) | Depends on the phone; turning it off before shooting is the reliable route |
Once the ID photos are done, you can switch the camera’s location permission back on; it does not affect anything already taken.
Paper documents: scan to PDF
Document scanning finds the four corners and flattens the page, which avoids the skewed shots that get sent back. It is also the easiest way to put the front and back in one file.
- iPhone Notes: new note › attachment button (a paper clip; a camera on older iOS) › Scan Documents, then Share › Save to Files to get a PDF.
- iPhone Files: ⋯ in the top corner › Scan Documents saves a PDF directly.
- Google Drive on Android: + in the bottom corner › Scan saves the result as a PDF.
- Check the size of a multi-page scan. Over 10 MB, split the pages and upload them separately.
A photo that passes first time
- Put the card on a plain, dark surface so its edges stand out.
- Switch the flash off and use daylight from a window or ordinary room light; a reflection on the laminate wipes out text.
- Hold the phone parallel to the card with all four corners inside the frame.
- Move the phone closer rather than zooming. Digital zoom costs detail.
- Pinch in on the result and check that the name, date of birth and number are sharp.
- Photograph the physical card, never an image of it on a monitor or another phone.
Before you upload
- Upload only through the verification window in your signed-in account, on a page whose address bar shows snsn1.com. If you opened a home-screen icon and there is no address bar, reopen the site in Safari or Chrome.
- On the check date, Telegram support was ‘opening soon’ and live chat and email were ‘coming soon’. Anyone asking for your ID over a messenger is not an official channel.
- Do not resubmit the same document while a review is pending.
Tidying up the phone afterwards
Verification does not remove the photo from your library or cloud backup. Clear it out in case the phone is lost or you hand it to someone.
- iPhone: deleted photos stay in Recently Deleted for up to 30 days. Delete them there too; with iCloud Photos on, the deletion reaches your other devices.
- Android: Google Photos moves deleted items to Bin, where backed-up items stay for 60 days. Samsung Gallery has its own Recycle bin to empty.
- If you need to keep a copy, move it to the iPhone Hidden album (locked with Face ID) or the Google Photos Locked Folder, which is not backed up.
- Remember copies sent to yourself in a messenger or pasted into a notes app.