How to Scan Documents to PDF With Your Phone

To scan documents to PDF with your phone, use the scanner in the Google Drive app, or photograph the pages and turn the photos into one PDF with ToolistHub's free JPG to PDF tool. JPG to PDF works in your phone's browser and keeps the photos on your device, so nothing is uploaded.

How to scan documents to PDF with Google Drive

Google Drive has a document scanner on both Android and iPhone:

1. Open the Google Drive app and tap the camera, or Add and then Scan.
2. Point the camera at the page. A blue line shows how it will be cropped; capture manually or let it capture automatically.
3. Adjust the scan: crop, rotate, clean up stains or add more pages.
4. Tap Done, name the file and save it.

Google's help pages say Drive stores the scan as a PDF on iPhone, and on Android you can choose PDF or JPG. On an iPhone, the Files app can also scan pages with More, then Scan Documents, as Apple's guide to scanning documents on iPhone shows.

Or turn photos into a PDF with JPG to PDF

If you already have photos of the pages, or prefer your camera app, turn them into one PDF:

1. Photograph each page flat, in good light, with the page filling the frame.
2. Open JPG to PDF in your phone's browser and select Choose images. You can add up to 100 images.
3. Put the pages in order with Move up and Move down.
4. Choose A4 or US Letter so every page comes out at paper size, and a margin if you want one.
5. Select Create PDF, then Download PDF. The file is named after the first photo.

Photos taken sideways come out upright, because the tool follows the orientation your phone records, and JPG photos are copied into the PDF without being compressed again. HEIC photos have to be shared or exported as JPG first.

Keep the PDF small

A phone photo can take several megabytes, so a PDF of ten pages can be too big to email. Make the photos smaller first with the Image Compressor, or shrink the finished PDF with Compress PDF.

Frequently asked questions

How do I scan several pages into one PDF?

In Google Drive, add pages before you tap Done. With photos, add them all to JPG to PDF, set the order and create one PDF.

Can I scan to PDF on iPhone for free?

Yes. The Google Drive app saves scans as PDFs, and JPG to PDF turns photos into a PDF in your phone's browser without an app.

Will the scanned PDF have selectable text?

JPG to PDF puts the photos into the PDF as pictures, so their text can't be selected. To copy the text, read the photos with Image to Text.

Conclusion

To scan documents to PDF with your phone, use the Google Drive scanner or turn your photos into one PDF with JPG to PDF, then compress the file if it is too large to send.