Frequently Asked Questions

Which smartphones are compatible with the Neatsy app?

The Neatsy app is available in the App Store, and is compatible with any iPhone that has iOS 14.0+ (iPhone 6s or newer).  However, Neatsy’s patented foot scanning feature requires the TrueDepth camera, thus it is compatible with the iPhone X or newer (except SE 2).

What does Neatsy do?

Neatsy is revolutionizing the consumer experience.   The process of shopping online for shoes is a bit stale, and sizing indecision can lead to hesitant buyers, and high return rates, in part, because shoe sizing isn’t standardized across different brands.

Neatsy’s patented AR, AI and ML technology takes a 3D scan of a person’s feet, using only their smartphone.  Moreover, Neatsy uses standardized measuring via augmented reality (AR)

The result?

Neatsy provides footwear sizing recommendations, based on the user’s personal measurements, cross-referenced with others’ measurements, for that same brand/model.  In practice, Neatsy enhances the shopping experience, provides information that encourages optimal  fit, and facilitates fewer product returns.

Try it for yourself, here.

Why does the app say my feet are different lengths?

We often think of feet as a perfectly matching pair—but having two different sized feet is more common than not; in fact, roughly 60% of adults have one foot that is bigger than the other.   That said, it is common practice to make footwear decisions based on your longest foot (and that is, in part, what Neatsy does as well).

What does it mean if I have “flat feet?”

Flat feet tend to cause another condition called overpronation, which is when the ankles roll inward while you're walking. This can lead to foot and ankle pain, and in some cases, knee and hip arthritis.

Because your feet are the basis of support for your entire body, having flat feet and overpronation can cause problems with your spinal alignment, which can result in problems with your hips, knees, and lower back.

Flat feet can sometimes start in childhood if your feet do not develop properly.  In fact, many young children have flat feet, but typically outgrow it; while some people are more prone to have flat feet because of genetics.

Other people develop flat feet over time. Not everyone with flat feet experiences pain from the condition. The most common causes of adult-onset flat feet include the following:

• Obesity, because the bones in your feet have more difficulty bearing more weight
• Age: flat feet are most common over the age of 40
• High blood pressure, which can reduce the blood flow to your feet
• Previous injuries to the feet, such as stress fractures
• Diabete
• Arthritis
• Damage to any of the bones or tendons in your feet

What if I have high arches?

When you have high arches, one or both heels are usually tilted toward the middle of your body. This causes foot and ankle instability, which can cause pain and increase your risk of ankle sprains, according to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.

The shape of the foot's arch may also increase the risk of supination, in that people with high arches are more prone to supination.

Lastly, high arches can increase your risk of Metatarsal fractures, due to repeated stress, thus, people with the condition may develop hairline fractures in the bones of the foot.

It says my feet are “wide”…wide, compared to what?

According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, only about a third of people wear the right shoe size. How is this possible? As it turns out, the correct shoe size is just as much about width as it is about length.

One tell-tale sign of wide feet is that your feet feel “cased-in” in every pair of shoes.

Here’s how to manually measure the width of your foot:

1. Your feet expand throughout the day:

For this reason, we recommend waiting until night to get the best accuracy with your measurement.

2. Get Your Measuring Materials and Ground Your Feet:

Grab a pen, a piece of paper, and a tape measure or measuring stick. If you tend to wear thick socks with shoes, we suggest putting some on before you measure your feet. Start by setting the paper on the floor. (If your floors are uneven, try to find the flattest portion, and do your measuring there.)

3. Trace Your Feet:

Standing on the paper, trace an outline around the perimeter of each foot. You can use this outline to measure and record the length and width of your feet. To get the width, measure between the broadest part of your foot. The length is measured from your longest toe down to the end of your heel.

4. Don’t Forget Both Feet!

It’s essential that you carefully measure both feet, as one is usually slightly longer or wider than the other. For most people, the difference is negligible. However, for some, one foot might be a half-size (or more) larger than the other.

5. Review Your Measurements:

Once you’ve recorded your measurements, you can determine if you’re a candidate for wide shoes. Just remember that the need for wide shoes is about more than the width of your foot. It also depends on the length (your numbered shoe size) and whether you’re a man or woman.

For instance, if a woman’s foot is 3.75 inches wide and she wears a size 5, she’ll likely need a wide fit.  On the other hand, if she wears a size 8 (and her foot is the same, 3.75 inches wide), she’ll probably be fine with a standard, B (medium) width shoe, which are typically between 3.6 and 4.1 inches across the ball of the foot.

On the other hand, men’s feet are generally larger than women’s, thus, what’s considered wide for a woman’s shoe isn’t necessarily a wide fit for a man.

Case in point, a 2E is considered a “Wide” men’s shoe, while a 4E or larger will be considered “Extra Wide.”  Whereas, for women, a 2E or larger is considered an “Extra Wide” shoe.  Typically, EE width shoes are between 4.4 and 4.9 inches across, but may be anywhere from 3.4 to 5.4 inches wide, depending on the length of your foot.

Why do I have wide feet?

Remember, there’s no one size fits all. Everyone has a unique foot size and shape, which can be attributed to a specific cause or be less known like genetics and ageing. A few causes of wide feet include:

• Genetics. Some people are born with wide feet. Alternatively, people with flat feet (collapsed arches) are prone to having wide feet.
• Age. As we age, our feet change. The ligaments and tendons loosen, and our feet tend to grow longer and wider as our arch collapses.
• Foot deformities. Foot conditions like bunions, calluses, and hammertoes can affect the shape and anatomy of your foot. As a result, your foot may widen.
• Improper footwear. Shoes make a difference. In fact, studies have shown 63-72% of people don’t wear footwear that fits their feet properly. This no doubt can lead to foot deformities.
• Pregnancy. During pregnancy, a hormone called relaxin causes ligaments and joints to loosen around the feet. Like in aging, the loosing of the tendons causes your feet to widen. This is especially true during the second and third trimesters.
• Swelling. Edema, a medical term for “swelling,” can cause your feet to widen. This can be a long-term condition or a short-term phenomenon depending on the cause.

How do people measure their feet length & width at home, today?

Step 1: Place a sheet of paper on the floor against a wall. Put your foot on the sheet of paper with your heel touching the wall. Stand up straight and balanced on both of your feet.

Step 2: Have a friend draw a line tracing your foot (this might tickle a bit), being careful to keep the pen perpendicular to the paper (yeah, it’s tricky). You can do this yourself, but you risk a slightly less accurate measurement. Now, repeat steps 1 and 2 with your other foot.

Step 3: Measure the maximum length of both of your feet. The length of the longer foot will be decisive for determining what shoe size you need.

Step 4: Measure the width of your feet parallel to the short edge of the sheet of paper. So do not measure the width diagonally from widest point to widest point, that will skew the result and make most feet seem ridiculously wide.

Step 5:  Scrap the paper and spend a 60 seconds using the Neatsy app;-)

How do people typically measure their feet at stores?

That strange-looking metal device used to measure your feet in shoe stores is called a Brannock Device, and it has been in use for almost 100 years!

Charles F. Brannock came from a shoe industry family and created the device, because he wanted an improved means of measuring the length, width and arch length of the human foot.

The device is quite good at taking measurements in person, but of course,  it’s useless if you’re trying to buy shoes remotely, online.

How does Neatsy measure your feet?

Neatsy's scanning feature guides users through a series of steps that capture 3D (depth) photos of one's feet, from different angles. We combine the various photos into a 3D representation, then compute a sparse set of given characteristics that describe the user's feet. The results are sent to our servers to create a personalized size & fit for the user.

How does Neatsy’s technology work with brand and retail apps?

There are multiple integration options on offer: mobile iOS SDK and web widget.

Mobile iOS SDK integrates Neatsy’s size & fit recommendations right into your app.

1. Add our library NeatsyKit to the 3rd Party’s code base
2. Add NeatsyPDPWidget view to your various Product Details Pages (PDP)
3. Provide NeatsyPDPWidget with a SKU from this PDP
4. NeatsyPDPWidget will automatically show when it detects supported SKUs, invite users to scan their feet for measurements, and then show product recommendations after the scan is complete

Web widget provides questionnaire-based size & fit recommendations on your website. It can also sync a user account from Neatsy app to get increased accuracy with the 3D scanning feature.

1. Add our iFrame to your Product Details Pages (PDP) on your website.
2. Provide the iFrame with a SKU from this PDP.
3. Our iFrame will automatically show when it detects supported SKUs, invite users to answer a few shoe/sizing questions, and then it'll show product recommendations.
4. Users can also login to their Neatsy account to sync their data from directly from the Neatsy app.

How is Neatsy different?

1) Neatsy uses augmented reality (AR) to provide standardized measuring, i.e. all users are measured objectively, versus the subjective “at-home piece of paper method.”

In fact, our sizing accuracy is on par with the ubiquitous metal Brannock Device, often found at shoe stores…but of course, the Neatsy app can be used anywhere, with an iOS smartphone.

2) We not only measure length and width, but also other important parameters like arch height and ball (of foot) girth.  As a result, we can detect foot ailments like flat feet, overpronation, supination, hallux valgus, and other foot-related health conditions.

3) Moreover, our foot scanning process measures the foot with, and without weight applied (i.e. your foot size actually changes size when you stand-up and apply weight; versus sitting down), thus calculating the stretch coefficient.

4) Neatsy is the first to perform Augmented-Reality (AR) foot measurements without use of a reference object (i.e. a credit card or A4 letter, to help with relative measurement).  All you need is your iPhone…that’s it;-)

5) Neatsy is also the only foot-scanning app to provide orthopedic health assessments, following your foot scan, via a smartphone.

6) Lastly, we are the only app that makes 3D model calculations on a mobile device. Thus, our user’s private information (pictures) are not sent to the cloud; only the final 3D mesh interpretation.

Why are some of Neatsy’s shoe recommendations different sizes?

Every shoe is created with a specific shoe “last” (a molded form that looks like a foot).  The last is used in the manufacturing and repairing of footwear by stretching materials over it, to shape a shoe during the production process.  Each “last” comes in pairs, designed based on what the shoe is supposed to accomplish (basketball, running, and leisure shoes all have different requirements).  In today’s world of mass-produced kicks, lasts are usually designed using computer-aided design software.

Because the exact shape of a last differs from shoe-to-shoe (and between each style and brand), sizes will inevitably vary a bit too.  Adding to that: men’s, women’s and kid’s lasts are all different widths, so the discrepancy in sizes is even more pronounced across those types of shoes.

What is the “last” of a shoe?

A shoe last is the form on which a shoe is constructed. The shape of the last determines the shape of the shoe that is made on that last. The shoe last determines the toe shape and heel height as well as the curvature of the shoe.  Note: the material used to make a shoe upper (i.e. leather, synthetic leather, mesh, etc.) will often feel different on your foot, even if made use the same last.

What is the "midsole" of a shoe?

The midsole is designed to provide cushioning and shock absorption. The outsole is the part of the shoe that touches the ground and is commonly referred to as the sole. Running shoes have a thick midsole. In contrast, racing flats, which are designed to be lightweight, have a thin midsole.

What is the "upper" of a shoe?

The term upper refers to the part or parts of a shoe that cover the toes, the top of the foot, the sides of the foot, and the back of the heel.   The shape of the last determines the shape of the shoe that is made on that last.  It is attached to the outsole of a shoe by the welt. ... Athletic shoe uppers are often made of a breathable mesh fabric. Uppers for sandals and flip-flops may be simple straps.

What is "AI"?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer, or a robot controlled by a computer, to do tasks that are usually done by humans because they require human intelligence and discernment.

What is "AR"?

Augmented Reality (AR) adds digital elements to the camera of your smartphone, creating the illusion that holographic content is a part of a physical world around you. Unlike virtual reality (VR), you are not immersed in an artificial environment.

What is "ML" and why is it important?

Machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that allows software applications to become more accurate at predicting outcomes without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning algorithms use historical data as input to predict new output values.

Machine learning is important because it gives enterprises a view of trends in customer behavior and business operational patterns, as well as, support the development of new products.

How can shoe brands, and shoe retailers benefit from Neatsy?

Neatsy is driving a paradigm shift in how consumers shop for shoes and apparel.

In short, we use artificial intelligence, augmented reality and machine learning to provide your customers with an enhanced shopping experience, across a range of major brands — currently including Puma, Nike, Jordan, Brooks, Mizuno, Hoka One One and Adidas…and growing — based on comparing the users’ measurements, to past measurements of other shoppers, looking at similar products.

When the algorithm’s efficiency was tested during commercial pilots this summer — it demonstrated a 2.7x reduction in sneaker return rates based on size, and a 1.9x decrease in returns overall.

How do I get my hands on a pair of size 10, Nike Air Jordan 1 High OG’s from ’85?

Your guess is as good as mine, friend...but if you find out, let me know!

How do I get in touch?

Write us a letter at support@neatsy.ai