Phone scanner apps such as CamScanner are popular because everyone carries a camera. But you do not have to install anything to scan a page on your mobile. This guide covers the scanner already built into your phone, plus a free browser scanner that works on both Android and iPhone.
Option 1: The scanner built into your phone
- iPhone and iPad: open Notes, start a note, tap the camera icon and choose Scan Documents. You can also scan from the Files app.
- Android: open the Google Drive app, tap the plus button and choose Scan. Some phones also include a scanner in the camera or gallery app.
These are quick and work offline in most cases. Their limits are that the options vary by phone and version, and it can be hard to control the page size or combine pictures you already took.
Option 2: A free scanner in your mobile browser
The WriteDroid Image Scanner runs in Chrome, Safari or any modern mobile browser. It works the same on Android and iPhone.
- Open the image scanner on your phone.
- Tap Take photo to use your camera, or Choose images to pick pictures from your gallery. You can select many images at once.
- Drag the corner and edge dots to fit each page, or tap Auto detect. A zoom bubble helps you place each dot exactly.
- Tap Apply, then check the result in the Preview tab.
- Add more pages if you need them and reorder them with Move left and Move right.
- Tap Save PDF. You can also save one page as JPG or PNG.
If your browser asks for camera permission, allow it. If you would rather not, take the photo in your normal camera app first and choose it from the gallery.
Take a better photo
- Lay the page on a flat surface and smooth out any folds.
- Use daylight or an even light, and avoid your own shadow on the paper.
- Hold the phone directly above the page so it does not look like a trapezoid.
- Fill most of the frame, but keep all four corners in view.
- Use a dark surface under a white page so the edges stand out.
Useful PDF settings on mobile
- Page size: A4, US Letter or Fit to image.
- Quality: choose Small file for email and uploads.
- Two pages per sheet: put the front and back of an ID card on one page.
- Page numbers: add them to longer documents.
What it does not do
Compared with a full scanner app, this one does not recognise text, so you cannot search or copy words from the PDF, and it does not keep a library of your scans in the cloud. In return you get no install, no account and no watermark. For a quick scan of a form, receipt or certificate, that is usually enough.
Privacy on your phone
Your pictures are processed in the browser on your phone and are not stored on our server. The optional AI page detection sends a photo to an AI service only to find the page edges, and it is not saved. You can turn it off with the checkbox in the scanner.
More help: how to scan a document with your phone camera, CamScanner alternatives that need no app and how to combine photos into one PDF.