How to Scan a Document With Your Phone
Turn your phone into a scanner: Google Drive's built-in scanner makes a clean PDF in seconds. Here's how on Android and Samsung, plus multi-page scans.
Your phone already has a document scanner built in — no extra app needed. On Android, the scanner lives inside Google Drive: tap the camera icon, photograph the page, and Drive saves a clean, cropped PDF. Samsung phones can also scan straight from the Camera app.
Scan with Google Drive (any Android)
Open the Google Drive app and tap the camera icon at the bottom right, or New, then Scan. Point it at the document — use Auto capture for a sharper frame, or switch to Manual — then Crop & Rotate to set the borders. Apply a Filter for color or grayscale, or Clean to erase smudges and stray marks, and tap Save to store it as a PDF in Drive. There is also a Drive scan shortcut you can add to the home screen.
Scan on a Samsung Galaxy
Samsung bakes scanning into the Camera app: open Camera, point it at a document, and tap the Scan prompt that appears; Samsung Notes can also insert a scan. There is nothing to download.
| Phone | Where the scanner is | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Any Android | Google Drive, camera icon | PDF (or JPG) |
| Samsung Galaxy | Camera app Scan prompt | |
| iPhone | Notes > Scan Documents |
Multi-page scans and cleaner results
For a multi-page document, scan the first page, then tap Add to append each following page into a single file. Auto capture plus Crop & Rotate gives the sharpest result, and the Clean filter removes fingers or stains at the edges. Once you have the PDF, you can add a signature to it, and if you scanned pages separately you can merge the PDFs on Android or merge PDF files on a computer into one.
For most documents, Google Drive’s scanner is all you need, and it is already on the phone. Reach for Samsung’s Camera scan if you are on a Galaxy and want it even faster.
Common questions
How do I scan straight to a PDF?
In Google Drive’s scanner, the save screen defaults to PDF, and a multi-page scan saves as one PDF. Choose JPG instead only if you need a single image.
How do I scan several pages into one file?
After the first page, tap Add (scan another page) to append each one; all the pages save into a single document rather than separate files.
How do I get a cleaner, sharper scan?
Use Auto capture for a steady frame, Crop & Rotate to fix the borders, a Filter for contrast or grayscale, and the Clean option to erase a stain or a stray finger at the edge.
Can I scan without installing an app?
Yes. On Samsung, the Camera app detects a document and offers a Scan action with nothing to download; on other Android phones, Google Drive — already installed — has the scanner built in.