How to Scan a Document with Your Android Phone

The 60-second video above from CNET walks through the whole process. If you'd rather read than watch, or want something to refer back to later, the written steps are below.

You don't need a scanner or a special app. Every Android phone comes with the Google Drive app pre-installed, and Google Drive has a document scanner built in. It's fast, free, and the results look like a real office scanner — straight edges, no shadows, and a proper PDF you can email.

No account signup beyond your regular Google account, which you're already signed into.

The Short Version

1. Open the Google Drive app (the colorful triangle icon).
2. Tap the plus button in the bottom-right corner.
3. Tap Scan.
4. Point your phone at the page. It captures automatically once it sees the edges (or tap the shutter button).
5. Tap the checkmark to keep the scan, or the circular arrow to retake it.
6. Tap the plus icon to add more pages, or Save when you're done.
7. Once saved, tap the three dots next to the file in Drive and choose Send a copy → Gmail (or any other email app).

That's the whole process. A few seconds per page.

Tips for Better Scans

• Good light helps. Daylight near a window works best. Avoid harsh overhead light that creates shadows under the page.
• Dark surface. Place the document on a dark table or counter so the phone can see the edges clearly.
• Hold steady. Wait for the phone to auto-detect the page before moving. If auto-capture doesn't fire, tap the shutter button yourself.
• Multi-page documents. Keep adding pages before saving. They all end up in a single PDF.
• Crop if needed. After capture, you can drag the corners to tighten the crop if the phone missed an edge.

Don't See the Scan Option?

A few older Android phones don't have the scanner button in Google Drive yet. If that's you, two easy alternatives:

Microsoft Lens — Free, no ads, no account required beyond Microsoft if you want to save to OneDrive. A great choice if your office uses Microsoft 365. Download it from the Google Play Store.

Adobe Scan — Free but requires an Adobe account. Strong OCR (text recognition) if you need the scanned document to be searchable.

We recommend Microsoft Lens for most people because it doesn't push paid upgrades and it works well with Microsoft 365 email.

Have an iPhone instead?

We have a guide for iPhone users too.