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Easily scan documents with your phone by simply taking a photo

Easily scan documents with your phone by simply taking a photo

Vote: (12 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: IntSig Information Co.,Ltd

Works under: Android

Vote:

Program license

(12 votes)

Free

Developer

IntSig Information Co.,Ltd

Works under:

Android

Pros

  • Easily create PDF documents with a phone's camera
  • Scans come out looking like they were scanned via hardware
  • Most features available in the free version

Cons

  • Watermarks persist on PDFs in the free version
  • CamScanner had a privacy and security scare recently

CamScanner Free is an Android app that generates PDF documents. The app utilizes a smartphone's camera to transform the photos into document scans. From there, users can save the documents as PDFs and upload them to cloud storage. Millions of Android users rely on CamScanner for these functions. Most smartphones don't include a native scanning feature in their camera software, so a third-party solution is necessary.

Users must give CamScanner Free various permissions after installing the app. Unsurprisingly, this includes access to the phone's camera and storage. Creating a scanned document couldn't be easier with this app. The user takes a well-lit photo of their document, and the app automatically generates a PDF. Scans come out looking like they were scanned by a standalone scanner, which is quite an achievement for software.

CamScanner includes a variety of capture modes and extra features. It's possible to scan multiple pages as a single document. Also, the app includes custom scanning modes for photo IDs and other types of documents. Documents include a watermark on each PDF in the free version, and not everyone will find this acceptable. A privacy scare hit the app recently with concerns over potential malware hidden in the app, too.

Nonetheless, CamScanner Free gets most things right. The app is more than capable of generating PDF documents using a smartphone's camera. Other apps create lackluster scans or come with far fewer features. In the end, users may love CamScanner Free enough to upgrade to the premium version. CamScanner's free version comes with more features than even some premium scanning apps for Android.

Pros

  • Easily create PDF documents with a phone's camera
  • Scans come out looking like they were scanned via hardware
  • Most features available in the free version

Cons

  • Watermarks persist on PDFs in the free version
  • CamScanner had a privacy and security scare recently