How to scan documents on your iPhone
Your iPhone's camera is all the scanner most paperwork needs. The trick is software that finds the page, squares it up and cleans it, so the result looks like it came off a flatbed rather than a photo of a desk. Here's how to do it with ScanMojo, which is free to scan and export with.
- 1
Open ScanMojo and tap Scan
The camera opens in Document mode. Lay the page on a surface that contrasts with it, like white paper on a dark table.
- 2
Hold your iPhone over the page
ScanMojo outlines the page's edges. With Auto on, it takes the shot by itself the moment the camera settles, so you don't need to tap anything.
- 3
Add the next page, or finish
Turn to the next page and hold steady again. Every page goes into the same document. Tap the thumbnail when you're done.
- 4
Check the pages and save
Crop, rotate, or switch between the Original, Auto, Gray and B&W looks. Then save; ScanMojo names the document from the text on its first page.
- 5
Share it
Open the document and tap Share to send a PDF by Mail or Messages, save it to Files, or AirDrop it.
Tips for a sharper scan
Light matters more than the camera. Scan near a window or under an even ceiling light, and avoid a single lamp beside you that throws your shadow across the page. ScanMojo evens out shadows it finds, but it has less to fix when the light is even.
Keep the whole page in view with a little margin around it, so ScanMojo can see all four corners. If the page is curled or folded, don't fight it flat with your fingers: Straighten lines flattens curved text for you, and Remove fingers & staples cleans up any fingertips that do get in.
Why not just take a photo?
A photo keeps everything the camera saw: the table, the angle, the yellow cast of indoor light. A scan is cropped to the page, corrected so the corners are square, and adjusted so the paper reads as white. It's also far easier to send as one multipage PDF than as a string of photos.
Scans in ScanMojo are searchable, too. The words on every page are recognized on your iPhone, so you can find a document later by typing a word that's on it.
Questions
Is there a scanner built into the iPhone?
The Notes and Files apps can scan documents. A dedicated scanner app adds automatic clean-up, searchable text across all your scans, folders, and more ways to export, like images, text, or Word.
Is scanning with ScanMojo free?
Yes. Scanning, clean-up, text recognition and PDF export are free with no watermark and no limit on how many pages you scan.
Do my documents get uploaded?
No. ScanMojo processes and stores scans on your iPhone and never uploads them. A scan only leaves your phone when you share it.