How to Use Microsoft Lens to Scan Documents

Microsoft Lens is a free app made by Microsoft that turns your phone camera into a high-quality document scanner. Unlike taking a photo of a document, Microsoft Lens automatically adjusts perspective, sharpens the text, removes shadows, and saves the result as a clean PDF or image file. It is available for both iPhone and Android and costs nothing to download or use.

The app is especially useful when you need to keep digital copies of important papers — tax documents, insurance cards, medical records, receipts, or letters. Instead of keeping stacks of paper, you can scan them, save the PDFs, and find them later by searching on your phone or in your email.

Microsoft Lens works in several modes depending on what you are scanning. Document mode is best for standard paper documents and letters — it trims to the edges of the paper automatically. Business card mode reads the card and can save the information as a contact. Whiteboard mode is designed for photographing handwritten notes on a whiteboard and cleans up the image significantly. Photo mode is for general pictures.

After scanning, you can save your scan in several formats. PDF is the most useful for documents you might share or print later. You can also save as a Word document, which allows editing the text. Or you can save as an image (JPEG) for simple storage.

Microsoft Lens connects with Microsoft OneDrive (Microsoft's cloud storage service) if you have a Microsoft account, which means your scans are saved both on your phone and in the cloud — accessible from any device later. You can also save scans directly to your phone's photo library or share them by email or text message.

The app is free and does not put watermarks on your scans, which is a significant advantage over some competing scanning apps. For anyone who regularly deals with paper documents, it is one of the most practical free tools available.