Scanner App Picks
Phone is already a scanner.
Apple Notes (built-in)
FREEOpen Notes → camera icon → "Scan Documents". Auto-detects edges, makes PDF.
Best free for iPhone.
Google Drive (built-in)
FREEDrive app → + → Scan. Auto-detects + saves PDF to Drive.
Best free for Android.
Microsoft Lens
FREECleans up + crops perfectly. OCR (turns text into searchable). Saves to OneDrive/Word.
Best OCR.
Adobe Scan
FREE / $10/mo ProBest image quality + edits. Pro adds password-protected PDFs.
Best quality.
CamScanner
FREE / $5/moLong-time popular. WARNING — privacy concerns + ads. Use only for non-sensitive docs.
Skip — privacy issues.
Genius Scan
$8 one-time / $15/yrNo subscription. Strong batch scanning. Privacy-respecting.
Best paid privacy.
iPhone Notes scanner — step by step
- Open Notes. Tap "+" to make new note.
- Tap camera icon → "Scan Documents".
- Hold phone over document. App auto-detects edges + scans.
- Multiple pages — scan each, app combines into one PDF.
- Tap "Save".
- Share → email, save to Files, print, or save to iCloud.
- Free, fast, private, ad-free.
Android — Google Drive scanner
- Open Google Drive.
- Tap "+" → Scan.
- Take photo of document.
- App auto-crops + cleans up.
- "+" to add more pages, or "Save" to finish.
- Saves PDF to Drive automatically.
When to use scanner apps
- Insurance receipts.
- Medical records to share with family.
- Legal documents to email.
- Recipes from grandma's notebook.
- Tax-related receipts.
- Warranty receipts to file digitally.
- Important mail to keep digital + shred paper.
- Emergency contact lists / will (digital backup).
Don't buy a scanner
Standalone scanners $50-200 — mostly unnecessary now. Phone scanner apps make a sharper PDF in 5 seconds. The exception: bulk archiving (1000+ photos), where Epson FastFoto is faster. For occasional household needs, your phone is enough.