Scanning documents with your phone

How to make a clean scan on a phone: built-in iPhone and Android scanners, lighting, multi-page PDFs, OCR, privacy and requirements for official applications.

A copy of your passport, a diploma, a reference letter, a contract: these days employers, training centres and the public services portal increasingly ask for them in electronic form. You do not need to visit a copy shop for this, because an ordinary smartphone does the job very well. In this guide we look at how a plain photo differs from a scan, which scanners are already built into iPhone and Android phones, how to prepare the light and background for a good scan, how to combine a multi-page document into a single PDF, how to name and store the file properly, how to recognise text (OCR) and, most importantly, how to keep scans of personal documents safe. At the end you will find common mistakes, a practice exercise and a checklist.

Photo versus scan: what is the difference

Many people simply photograph a document with the camera and send the picture, so the recipient gets a crooked, shadowy image with the edge of the table showing. It is hard to read, and it prints out faded. A scanner app turns the photo into a document. It automatically:

Finds the edges. It detects the edges of the sheet and crops out the background (table, rug, hand).
Corrects perspective. Even if the phone was held at a slight angle, the sheet becomes a neat rectangle, as if viewed from directly above.
Boosts contrast. The background turns white and the text black and sharp, and shadows are reduced.
Creates a PDF. Several pages are combined into one PDF file. A PDF looks the same on any device and is the most convenient format for official documents.

A plain photo is sometimes enough, but a document going to an employer, a college or a government office should be a scan. General tips on taking pictures with your phone are in the article on phone photo and video; here we focus on the rules that matter for documents.

Scanners built into your phone

In most cases you do not need a separate app, because the scanner is already on your phone. The menu names below follow the English interface. Depending on your phone model and system version, buttons may be in different places or have slightly different names.

iPhone: the Notes app

Open the Notes app and create a new note.
Tap the camera or paperclip (attachment) icon at the bottom or above the keyboard and choose Scan Documents.
Hold the phone over the document. In automatic mode the app finds the sheet and takes the picture itself. To capture manually, switch the Auto/Manual button at the top.
After each capture you can drag the corners with your finger to adjust them. Scan the next page straight away.
When all the pages are done, tap Save. The scan is added to the note as a PDF.
Open the scan and use the Share button to save it to the Files app or send it.

iPhone: the Files app

The scanner in the Files app saves the PDF straight into the folder you want. Open the folder, tap the three-dot (More) button in the top right corner and choose Scan Documents. The process is the same as in Notes, but the scan does not get lost inside a note.

Android: Google Drive

Most Android phones come with the Google Drive app. In it:

Open Drive and tap the + (New) button in the bottom right corner.
Choose Scan (in some versions there is a separate camera icon on the main screen).
Photograph the document, then adjust the corners (Crop) and choose a colour mode if needed.
Tap + to add the next page.
When you are finished, tap Save, type a file name and choose a folder. The result is a PDF that is uploaded to the cloud.

Document mode in the camera and other apps

On some Android phones the camera app itself recognises a sheet of paper and offers a document (scan) mode. Whether this is available depends on the manufacturer and model.

There are also separate scanner apps. For example, many people used Microsoft Lens; over time, scanning features like these have also been added to other apps, such as OneDrive. App names and features change over time, so look at what an app can do rather than what it is called: find edges, correct perspective, create multi-page PDFs and offer colour modes. Before installing an app, check what permissions it asks for and where it uploads your files.

Preparing for a good scan

Even the best app cannot fully fix poor lighting, and a minute of preparation makes a noticeable difference.

Light

Daylight from a window is best. Place the document on a table near a window, but out of direct sunlight, which causes glare and harsh shadows.
Avoid shadows. If the ceiling light is behind you, the shadow of your phone and hand falls on the paper. Position yourself so the light comes from the side.
Turn off the flash. It leaves a white spot, especially on laminated documents.

Background and the state of the paper

Put white paper on a dark, flat background. A dark table or a piece of card helps the app find the edge of the sheet easily. White paper on a white table gives a blurry edge.
Flatten the paper. Folds cast shadows. If necessary, leave it under a book for a few minutes.

Holding the phone

Hold it parallel. The phone should be parallel to the paper, directly above it. The app corrects perspective, but at a steep angle the text on one side goes blurry.
Keep your fingers out of the frame. Do not hold the sheet in your hand; lay it on the table.
Wipe the lens. A phone that lives in a pocket often has a greasy lens, which makes the picture hazy.
Keep still. Hold the phone steady for a second while the picture is taken.

Corners, colour mode and pages

Adjusting the corners

After the capture, the app outlines the edges of the sheet with a frame. Check that the corners of the frame sit exactly on the corners of the paper. If the app got it wrong (for example, it took the edge of the table for the edge of the sheet), drag the corners with your finger. No part of the document, whether a stamp, a signature or the bottom line, should be cut off. A cropped document is often rejected for an official application.

Choosing a colour mode

Many scanners offer several modes. The names vary slightly from app to app, but the logic is the same:

Black & White. A clean white background and black text. Best for an ordinary text document such as a reference letter, a contract or an application: the file is small and sharp.
Grayscale. Shadows and soft transitions are preserved. Choose it if pencil writing or faint print “disappears” in black and white.
Color. For stamps, coloured forms, passports and ID cards, and diplomas. Many organisations ask for a colour copy of an identity document.

If in doubt, choose colour: it is easy to make a black and white copy from it, but not the other way round.

Combining a multi-page document into one PDF

A contract or a diploma supplement should be a single PDF file rather than a set of separate pictures; it is easier for the recipient to open one well-ordered file.

Scan the first page and, without saving, move on to the next one.
Scan all the pages in order.
Before saving, look through the list of pages: is the order right, is anything missing or duplicated?
If necessary, drag a page to a different position or retake a blurry one (Retake).
Only then save it as a PDF.

If the pages were scanned at different times, you can merge them into one file later. This and other PDF tasks are covered in detail in the article on working with PDFs.

Naming, storing and recognising text

A clear file name

Scanners usually give files names like “Scanned_20261005_1432” or “Document 3”. A week later it is hard to find the right one among them. Name the file as soon as you save it:

“Diploma_KarimovaMalika.pdf”
“Passport_KarimovaMalika_p2-3.pdf”
“Reference_employer_2026-10.pdf”

The name should say who, what and, where relevant, when. Using underscores instead of spaces helps the file upload to different systems without problems. There is more on file names and folder structure in the article on organising your files.

Storing in the cloud

If the scan stays only in your phone’s gallery, it disappears if the phone is lost or breaks. Keep scans of important documents in cloud storage, in a separate “Documents” folder in iCloud Drive, Google Drive or OneDrive. Do not share this folder with anyone. How to choose a service and set it up is explained in the article on cloud storage.

OCR: copying text from a scan

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) turns the letters in an image into real text: for example, you can copy a long number from a reference letter without retyping it.

On iPhone, Live Text recognises text in a picture: open the image, press and hold on the text and choose Copy.
On Android, Google Lens (in the camera or the Google app) recognises text and offers to copy it.
On a computer, right-click a PDF or image uploaded to Google Drive and choose Open with → Google Docs: Google recognises the text and creates an editable document.

Important: OCR makes mistakes. It confuses “0” and “O”, “1” and “l”, and often misreads the Uzbek apostrophe and handwriting. Always check recognised names, numbers, dates and addresses against the original.

Privacy: passport and ID card scans

Scans of passports, ID cards and driving licences are the most sensitive kind of personal data. Fraudsters can use them to open an account or submit an application in someone else’s name. So:

Be sure who you are sending it to. Send a copy of a document only to an organisation that has genuinely asked for it and that you can trust, through an official channel: the organisation’s official website, portal or official email address. If a stranger on a messenger asks you to “send your passport”, stop and check.
Do not spread it through messengers. Do not send scans to a group or family chat “for safekeeping”: files there end up on many devices and out of your control.
Send the minimum required. If only the photo page is requested, do not send the whole passport.
Where to keep it. Store scans in a private, unshared folder in the cloud; the account should have a strong password and two-step verification turned on.
Delete what you no longer need. Once the application is submitted, delete copies left in your Downloads folder, gallery and messenger chats. In many apps deleted files first go to “Recently Deleted” or the bin, so empty that too.

Watermark

Adding a watermark to a copy of a document before sending it is a common and useful habit. A semi-transparent line of text is placed over the scan, for example: “For organisation X only, job application, 2026-10”. If the copy falls into the wrong hands, it becomes harder to use for another purpose. You can do this in a PDF editor or in a simple app that adds text to images. The text should not completely cover important details (name, number), as the document must stay readable. Some official portals require the document unaltered, so do not add a watermark there.

Other ways to protect personal information online are covered in the article on online safety.

Scan requirements for official applications

When you upload documents to the public services portal, a university or an international organisation, the following requirements usually apply. The exact rules are stated on the upload page, so be sure to read them.

Readable. Every letter, number, stamp and signature is clearly visible. The text does not blur when you zoom in.
Complete and uncropped. All four edges of the document are visible and nothing goes outside the frame.
The right way up. The page is not upside down or on its side; scanner apps have a Rotate button.
In the required format. PDF or JPG is most often requested. Sometimes each document has to be uploaded as a separate file.
Within the size limit. Portals often limit the size of a single file (for example, to a few megabytes). If your file is too large, choose black and white mode or lower the quality in the scanner settings. Ways to compress a file are also in the PDF article mentioned above.

For example, when applying on the public services portal, you upload the finished PDF using the file selection button in the attachments section, then check that the file opens and that you picked the right document. Working with the portal is covered in the article on public services online, and electronic documents and how they differ from paper ones in the article on electronic documents.

Example: Malika scans her documents in 15 minutes

This example is hypothetical; the name and timings are invented.

Malika Karimova wants to apply for a job at an international company in Tashkent. The company has asked for the photo page of her passport, her diploma, its two-page supplement and a reference letter from her previous employer, each as a separate PDF file.

Preparation (3 minutes). Malika places a dark blue folder on the table by the window as a background, wipes the lens and turns off the flash.
Passport (2 minutes). She taps Scan in Google Drive and scans the passport in colour mode. There is glare on the laminated page, so she tilts the phone slightly and retakes it. She names the file “Passport_KarimovaMalika.pdf”.
Diploma and supplement (5 minutes). She scans the diploma in colour and the two supplement pages in black and white. The supplement pages are combined into one file. Checking the corners, she makes sure the stamp on the bottom line is not cut off.
Reference letter (2 minutes). Black and white, because it is a plain text document. The signature and stamp are clearly visible.
Checking and sending (3 minutes). She zooms in on each file to check it, then uploads them through the form on the company’s official careers page. She deletes the intermediate shots from the gallery and keeps the PDFs in her private “Documents” folder on Drive.

The result: four clean, clearly named PDFs. Next time, for a visa application for example, the same files will be ready to hand.

Common mistakes, exercise and checklist

Common mistakes

Fingers in the frame. Holding the sheet while taking the picture, so fingers cover the text. Lay the document on the table.
Glare. Lamination or the flash causes a white spot and part of the text is hidden. Turn off the flash and change the angle slightly.
A crooked scan. The phone was not parallel to the paper, so one edge is narrow and the text is blurry. Hold the phone directly above the sheet and check the corners.
Cropped edges and shadows. A stamp or signature falls outside the frame, or half the page is in the phone’s shadow.
Dozens of separate pictures. A multi-page document sent as a set of images instead of one PDF.
An unclear file name. Files like “IMG_4521.jpg” confuse the recipient.
Sending passport copies everywhere. Messengers, group chats, unverified websites.
Not checking OCR results. A wrong number in recognised text can lead to an application being rejected.

Practice exercise

Practise with two or three documents you have at home. Instead of a real passport, start with an ordinary reference letter or a multi-page receipt.

Find the built-in scanner on your phone: Notes or Files on iPhone, Google Drive on Android.
In daylight, on a dark background, scan one page in automatic mode.
Save the same page in Black & White, Grayscale and Color modes and compare the results and file sizes.
Scan a two- or three-page document into one PDF and check the page order.
Give the file a clear name and save it in a private folder in the cloud.
Copy a line from the scan using OCR, paste it into a message or note and compare it with the original.
Add a watermark to a copy of the scan as a test.
Delete unnecessary copies from your gallery and Downloads folder.

Checklist before sending

All four edges of the document are visible and nothing is cut off.
Text, stamp and signature are sharp even when zoomed in.
No fingers, shadows or glare.
The colour mode suits the document: text in black and white, passport and diploma in colour.
A multi-page document is in one PDF, with the pages in order.
The file name is clear and the size meets the requirements.
The document is going only to the right organisation, through an official channel.
Extra copies are deleted and the original scan is stored in a private folder.

Scanning documents with your phone is a simple skill: learn it once and it saves you time every time after that.

If you would like to learn to use a smartphone, a computer and office software systematically with a teacher, take a look at our association’s free computer literacy programme and other training programmes. When you are ready, submit an application and our specialists will get in touch.