screenrant.com How To Quickly & Easily Scan Documents On Android

Google has a document scanner built into its Google Drive app, removing the need to download a dedicated Android documents scanner app.

Google actually includes a built-in scanner feature for Android users that already have the Drive app installed on a device. As a result, users can scan their documents straight from their phone and without the need to download a third-party app. However, for those that do want a more robust scanning and document-editing experience on their Android device, there are plenty of good apps to choose from.

From the moment smartphones were equipped with decent enough cameras, mobile app developers started developing ways to digitize documents, bringing scanning to those who don't already have access to a dedicated scanner. The same apps have since improved, adding other features such as editing for perspective and color correction. As a result, mobile scans now look more like they came from real scanners. However, most users of the two biggest mobile operating systems, iOS and Android, won't actually have to download a separate app to scan documents. For example, the iOS Notes and Files apps come with scanning features. Likewise, so does Google Drive on Android.

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Google's built-in scanner is available to any Android user with a Google account and the Drive app installed on the device. To take a scan, the user simply needs to click on the Add icon (the plus sign) in the bottom-right corner. From there, the user will see a "Scan" option that opens the device's camera. After taking a photo of the document, the app includes a small palette of editing features, including cropping, rotating, and color correcting. By default, scans are stored in the user's Drive account.

Other Scanning Alternatives For Android

For some, Drive's scanner might not offer the full gallery of options that other apps normally have. For example, the app doesn't allow users to manually select the area they want scanned. Instead, it automatically detects the document, potentially resulting in parts being cut out. It works similar to Stack, an external scanning app Google launched in March. Stack, however, does have a few other features such as adding tags to scans, allowing for better organization.

Besides Google's two scanners, Android users can also download third-party alternatives for all their scanning needs. One of the more popular options is Microsoft Lens. The app is available to everyone, regardless of whether they have a Microsoft subscription, and Microsoft Lens comes with the ability to adjust the borders of a document after taking a photo of them. Besides the usual editing features, users can also mark their scans with a digital pen or text tool. Though it can save directly to the device, OneDrive subscribers can also save their scans to the cloud.

Another popular alterative is Adobe Scan. Much like Lens, Adobe Scan doesn't require an Adobe subscription to work. Owing to its legacy as an Adobe product, the app offers robust editing features, including the ability to clean a scan of any blemishes. Users can also scan forms and manually fill them in through Adobe Acrobat Reader. In addition, the app can also automatically pull information from documents and business cards, so Android users can save them easily.

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Source: Google