“Looks like VSCO joined the subscription bandwagon and threw EVERYTHING behind a paywall. As someone who's been using VSCO since high school, It's extremely disappointing and it feels like taking advantage of longtime loyal users for…”
Independent automated assessment · 6 signal sources · 420 reviews scanned · analyzed 2026-10-05.
3.6 ★1,325,428 ratings
100M+Downloads
12+Age rating
—App size
Free · In-app purchasesIn-app purchases
About this app
VSCO: Photo Editor & Inspiring Photography Community. Our community-driven platform empowers photographers to flourish creatively and professionally.
With a comprehensive suite of photo editing tools for mobile photography editing and desktop, and a network for connecting with other creators and businesses, VSCO empowers photographers to develop their unique style and be discovered by the world. VSCO — powerful tools, creative community, and exposure for all photographers.
PHOTO EDITING Professional Grade Presets Our preset library is the best in class for digital photography enhancement. Unlock over 200 curated photo presets, including the beloved member favorite AL3. Excellent for outdoor and indoor image edits and ideal for food and night photography, AL3 uniquely brightens and softens the light in your photos while they appear natural and untouched.…
Preview
Real screenshots from the store listing.
Independent evidence report
The evidence behind this assessment
This is where the page changes from an app-store listing into an evidence report: findings, important reviews, pricing and a dated history.
Which version this describes
When we ran this analysis, and what the store lists now.
This analysis describes version 496 of the app (the version number recorded inside the package we inspected), analyzed 2026-10-05 . The app may have changed since.
The store currently lists version 496, updated 2026-09-21.
What we measured
Each line is a measurement published as a measurement, never a verdict.
Each line is a measurement, published as a measurement. Where we have not looked, the line says so rather than reading as a zero.
Developer replies to reviews
Replies to fewer than 1 review in 20
Price in the store description
States no price and billing period
Cancelling, in the store description
Says how to cancel
Themes reported by reviewers
1 theme reported
Counted from the reviews we have read for this app. "No theme reported" means no theme reached our reporting threshold — it is not a finding that nothing is wrong with this app, and we do not say it is.
Five-star share of ratings
Under 65% five-star
Arithmetic on the stores' own published rating counts. It says nothing about why the ratings fall where they do.
In the package we scanned
From the package we downloaded and read — version 496, scanned 2026-09-29.
Permissions Android classifies as dangerous
6 or more requested
Counted against the eighteen permissions listed in collect-package.ts. A dangerous permission is one Android asks the user to grant; requesting one is not itself a finding.
Analytics or tracking SDKs in the scanned package
3 or more found
Advertising SDKs in the scanned package
3–9 found
Counted as distinct SDKs in the package we scanned. One mediation bundle can contribute several, so this is not a count of advertisers.
Graded bands · predicate set 1.4 · how these are measured
What the analysis found
App-specific findings, grouped by what each one rests on. How they are graded lives on its own page.
The catch list 2
Charges we publish at a strength we stand behind: measured from an artefact, agreed by independent sources, or reported by enough users to clear that charge's own published bar.
Multiple ad networks bundled
The package embeds several distinct advertising or mediation SDKs — a stack built for ad volume, not for a single house ad.
What we saw: Bundles 4 distinct ad networks / mediation SDKs: Amazon Publisher Services, AppLovin MAX, Google Mobile Ads (AdMob / Ad Manager), Meta Audience Network
Price may differ from what you see here
The app ships a remote paywall-experimentation SDK, so the offer shown is configured server-side and may differ per user — including from anything we or a reviewer saw.
What we saw: Paywall is server-configured and A/B tested via Superwall — the offer shown can differ per user
Positive evidence 2
Things this app does right, published at the same strengths as the catch list.
States a price, or offers a one-time purchase
The app's own text offers a one-time or lifetime purchase, or reviewers report that the price is stated clearly.
What we saw: Offers a one-time or lifetime purchase: "One-time purchase"
Developer says data deletion can be requested
The developer's data-safety disclosure on the store states that users can request deletion of their data, or the app's own text offers a way to delete the account. This restates what the developer declares; it is not a test of whether deletion works. Apple publishes no equivalent disclosure, so on an Apple-only listing only the app's own text can support it.
What we saw: The developer's store data-safety disclosure states that data deletion can be requested; we have not seen a deletion control in the app's own text
One source only — shown, not confirmed 3
A single kind of evidence. We publish these because withholding them would be the bigger distortion, and we do not treat any of them as a finding we stand behind.
Reported by users: Paywall blocks the basics
The core of the app — not extras — sits behind payment, or previously-free function moved behind a paywall.
What we saw: Paywall blocks the basics: raised by 10 distinct reviewers (2.4% of 420 reviews scanned)
In the app's own text: A plan is pre-picked as 'recommended'
The purchase screen arrives with one plan already framed as the recommended or most popular choice, so the default is the app's preference rather than the user's. We do not compare the plans' prices, and only the app's own text evidences this, so it is shown, but never counted as a charge.
What we saw: Purchase screen steers the choice: "Most Popular"
In the app's own text: Aggressive ad load
Advertising volume or placement that interrupts normal use: ads between every action, unskippable or forced full-screen ads.
What we saw: Progress is gated behind watching an ad: "Watch a video to earn a reward!"
Highlighted reviews
Representative public review excerpts shown as user reports, not Appworthy audit evidence.
“RUBBISH, you now have to pay to copy edits! Once a great app, used it for years. But it's time to move on to better FREE apps.”
“been a user for years and years, however, the constant removing of features and only to bring back behind a paywall is absolutely exhausting.”
Assessment & version history
App changes and Appworthy events in one timeline.
Store listing updated to version 496.
What this app sells
Useful store-disclosed pricing, kept below the app listing.
Items shown0
Lowest—
Highest—
Google Play does not publish per-purchase prices.