Beyond the barcode: Meet the entrepreneur building a more transparent product scanner

Beyond the barcode, a new entrepreneur is building an app that aims to provide a more transparent product scanner. Bálint László, just 19 years old, is the founder of LB: Universal Scanner, a privacy-focused product and ingredient scanner. The app allows users to scan barcodes or photograph ingredients to understand what's in the product, covering food, pet food, cosmetics, cleaning products, and art supplies.

Bálint, who is autistic and processes information differently from traditional education, initially built LB with his mother, Mónika, in mind. Mónika has fructose and lactose intolerances, which lead to digestive problems. They started the app with food, but expanded it to include pet food, cosmetics, cleaning products, and art supplies. The app uses barcode scans and photo scans to search public product databases and text recognition.

Despite limited resources, LB has a serious focus on usefulness, accessibility, privacy, and responsible information. Bálint explains that he's building the app primarily for people with allergies or sensitivities, visually impaired users, families, caregivers, and anyone who wants clearer product information. The app is not a medical diagnosis and can't guarantee product safety.

While there are numerous barcode scanning apps, Bálint believes that finding a database record is only the beginning. He conducted a test that found barcode information often doesn't fully match what's on the package. To address this, LB uses a layered process that validates the barcode, identifies the type of information it contains, retrieves available information, and allows users to review and correct the recognized text before analysis.