This was also just simple online research and not as much physical action done to learn about the scanners.

I used quora to find out about them as often you can get some knowledgable people answering questions in there. Here are they main results for finding how a scanner on a phone works:

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• The scanner itself uses simple lines and numbers that are easy for a computer to decode

• The app then needs access to the devices camera and relevant permissions to use

• External API to gain access to the product information/or this can be linked to Leafs database

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Apps such as Vivino and Myfitnesspal were also looked at, as they are 2 of the most popular apps using this kind of technology.

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https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-mechanics-behind-barcode-scanning-and-how-are-third-party-companies-like-MyFitnessPal-assuming-they-dont-have-their-own-database-like-Amazon-able-to-pull-in-all-the-relevant-nutrition-facts-so-accurately