Free document scanners compared: where does your photo go?
Twelve free scanners — built into the phone, apps and websites. Where the photo is processed, whether you need an account, whether there are ads or a watermark, whether you get an exact A4 page, both sides of an ID card on one sheet, a marked copy, covered fields and a signature. Every claim has a source, all checked on 27 September 2026.
Updated 2026-09-27
You need to send a copy of your ID card, a bank statement or a lease, and there is no scanner at home. Any scanner on this list turns a photo into a PDF. The differences are elsewhere: where the photo ends up, what you give in return, and whether the file suits a form that expects an A4 page.
I compared twelve free options. One of them is mine — A4Norm, which is why it comes first and is highlighted in the tables. For the same reason, every claim about someone else's service comes from that service's own pages — its product page, help centre or privacy policy — and the table links to it. Where a service says nothing, the table says "not stated". The weak spots of A4Norm are listed below, in a section of their own.
In short
Everything below was checked on 27 September 2026 against the services' own pages.
- The photo stays on the phone with scanners that process it on the spot: Genius Scan, SwiftScan, FairScan, and among websites A4Norm and scandocument.app.
- It goes to someone else's server with the PDF24 and iLovePDF websites: the photo is uploaded and deleted after one or two hours.
- It lands in a cloud account with Google Drive, OneDrive and Adobe Scan: the scan is saved there straight away. The iPhone puts the scan in a note — on the phone or in iCloud, depending on how Notes is set up.
- Both sides of an ID card on one page is described by Adobe Scan, CamScanner (the collage is Premium) and A4Norm.
- Open source: FairScan (Android); for A4Norm, the scanner core is open.
- Covering a field so that no data is left under it is described by PDF24 and iLovePDF — on their servers, as separate tools — and by A4Norm, on the device.
- A signature is placed right in the scanner on the iPhone (Markup), in scandocument.app and in A4Norm — on the device; PDF24 and iLovePDF do it with a separate tool on their servers; Adobe Scan and Genius Scan in a separate app, CamScanner in Premium.
Where the photo goes
| Scanner | Photo stays on the device | No account | No ads or ad trackers | Open source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4Normmy scanner, website | yes: processed in the browser[1] | yes | yes: no ads; cookieless visit statistics[2] | partly: scanner core open (MIT)[1] |
| scandocument. | yes: in the browser, no upload[3] | yes[4] | yes: no ad trackers; Know analytics[3] | no: no source published |
| PDF24website | no: server in Germany, deleted after 1 hour[5] | yes[5] | no: Google AdSense and Google Analytics[6] | no |
| iLovePDFwebsite, JPG → PDF | no: server, deleted within 2 hours[7] | yes: free without registration, with limits[8] | no: ad-free only in Premium[9] | no |
| iPhone Notes and Files[10]built into iOS | partly: scan in a note, on the iPhone or in iCloud[11] | yes: for “On My iPhone” notes; iCloud needs an Apple Account[11] | yes: App Store: no tracking, no data for advertising[12] | no |
| Google Driveapp, Android and iOS | no: scan is saved to Google Drive[13] | no: Google account sign-in | partly: no ads; App Store: data for Google's advertising[14] | no |
| OneDrive[15]replaces Microsoft Lens | no: OneDrive only, no saving on the phone[15] | no: Microsoft account | yes: no ads; Microsoft analytics[16] | no |
| Adobe Scanapp, Android and iOS | no: saves to Adobe cloud storage[17] | not stated: sign-in needed for the cloud and Premium[18] | no: App Store: data used for third-party ads[19] | no |
| Genius Scanapp, Android and iOS | yes: on the phone; cloud optional[20] | yes[20] | yes: no ads; Amplitude analytics[20] | no |
| SwiftScanformerly Scanbot, Android and iOS | yes: on the phone; sync is paid[21] | not stated | no: ad-free only in Premium[21] | no |
| CamScannerapp, Android and iOS | partly: cloud OCR and sync go through a server[22] | not stated | no: ads and advertising identifiers[23] | no |
| FairScanAndroid only | yes[24] | yes[25] | yes: no ads, no analytics[26] | yes: GPLv3[24] |
Three models stand out. On the device: the phone or the browser processes the photo, and it goes nowhere until you send it yourself. On the service's server: the file is uploaded, processed and deleted after a while — one hour at PDF24, two at iLovePDF. In a cloud account: the scan is saved to Google Drive, OneDrive or Adobe's cloud and stays there until you delete it.
None of these models is "dangerous" in itself. PDF24 runs its servers in Germany and deletes files after an hour; for Google and Microsoft the cloud is the whole point of the app. The question is whether you need it for this particular document.
What you get for free
| Scanner | Free without limits | Exact A4 | ID card, both sides on one page | Works offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4Normmy scanner, website | yes: no limits or watermarks[1] | yes: always A4, from a finished PDF too[1] | yes: at true size[1] | yes: after the first visit[2] |
| scandocument. | yes: no watermarks or limits[3] | not stated | not stated | yes: after the first visit[4] |
| PDF24website | yes: “no limits”, paid for by ads[5] | not stated | not stated | no: offline only with the PDF24 Creator program for Windows[6] |
| iLovePDFwebsite, JPG → PDF | partly: limits on file count and size[7] | yes: A4, Letter or the photo's size[8] | not stated | no: processed on a server[9] |
| iPhone Notes and Files[10]built into iOS | not stated: built into iOS | not stated | not stated | not stated |
| Google Driveapp, Android and iOS | not stated: storage from the account's 15 GB | not stated: only PDF or JPG to choose[11] | not stated | not stated |
| OneDrivereplaces Microsoft Lens | partly: 5 GB of storage; up to 10 pages per scan on Android[12] | not stated | no: modes: whiteboard, document, business card, photo[12] | not stated |
| Adobe Scanapp, Android and iOS | partly: merging files and more OCR in Premium[13] | yes: A4 page size[14] | yes[15] | partly: text recognition needs a network[16] |
| Genius Scanapp, Android and iOS | yes: no watermark or limits; OCR is paid[17] | yes: A4 in the page settings[18] | not stated | yes[19] |
| SwiftScanformerly Scanbot, Android and iOS | no: watermark and page limit[20] | partly: A4 proportions when scanning (iOS); PDF page size not stated[21] | not stated | not stated |
| CamScannerapp, Android and iOS | no: watermark and ads[22] | yes: page size in the PDF settings[22] | partly: A4 collage in Premium[22] | partly: local OCR offline, cloud OCR not[22] |
| FairScanAndroid only | yes: no watermarks or limits[23] | partly: snaps to the detected format, A4 included[24] | not stated | yes[25] |
"Exact A4" matters where the file gets printed or where a form expects an ordinary sheet: government portals, applications, a caseworker's printout. Otherwise the PDF page can come out the size of the photo — iLovePDF, for example, offers that next to A4. Many services say nothing about page size at all. That does not mean they have no A4 — only that their own pages do not let you check.
A copy: mark it, cover a field, sign it, reorder the pages
A copy of an ID card or a bank statement often has to be marked ("KOPIE für …" with the date) and have things covered. Covering so that nothing is left under the black is not the same as drawing a rectangle on top: such a rectangle can sometimes be moved, or what is under it read.
| Scanner | Note on the page | Cover a field, leaving no data | Reorder pages | Signature on the document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4Normmy scanner, website | yes: with the date, next to the document[1] | yes: solid black in the page image, on the device[1] | yes: before and after the scan[1] | yes: drawn once, kept on the device, placed on any page; blue or black[1] |
| scandocument. | not stated | not stated | yes: by dragging[2] | yes: drawn once, kept in the browser[3] |
| PDF24website | partly: a separate tool, on the server[4] | partly: a separate tool, on the server; content removed[5] | partly: a separate tool, on the server[6] | partly: separate tool, on the server[7] |
| iLovePDFwebsite, JPG → PDF | partly: a separate tool, on the server[8] | partly: on the server; Premium in the app[9] | partly: a separate tool, on the server[10] | partly: separate tool, on the server[11] |
| iPhone: Notes and Filesbuilt into iOS | yes: text with Markup[12] | partly: only a filled shape on top[12] | not stated | yes: in Markup, the signature is saved[13] |
| Google Driveapp, Android and iOS | not stated | not stated: only “Clean” for stains and fingers[14] | not stated | not stated: not mentioned in the scanning help[14] |
| OneDrivereplaces Microsoft Lens | yes: text after scanning (iPhone)[15] | not stated | not stated | not stated: the help names only text and highlighting[15] |
| Adobe Scanapp, Android and iOS | partly: free: finger drawing; text in Premium[16] | partly: fills an area with a colour[17] | yes: by dragging[17] | partly: in the separate Acrobat app[18] |
| Genius Scanapp, Android and iOS | partly: in the separate Genius Sign app[19] | not stated | yes: by dragging[20] | partly: in the separate Genius Sign app (iOS)[19] |
| SwiftScanformerly Scanbot, Android and iOS | partly: yes; free or not — not stated[21] | partly: “redact”; free or not — not stated[22] | partly: yes; free or not — not stated[23] | partly: yes; whether free is not stated[22] |
| CamScannerapp, Android and iOS | partly: text yes; watermark in Premium[24] | partly: paint over with a brush; free or not — not stated[24] | partly: yes; free or not — not stated[24] | partly: Premium only[24] |
| FairScanAndroid only | not stated | not stated | yes: rotate and reorder pages[25] | not stated |
By their own description, PDF24 and iLovePDF cover for real — but with separate tools on their servers: the file with the data you want to hide is uploaded there first. Adobe Scan and CamScanner fill or paint over an area in the scan itself, and Markup on the iPhone lays a shape on top; what stays in the file, they do not say. In A4Norm the note, black and white and the solid black are done on the device, under "Edit" below the finished PDF — how it works.
The signature is there too: drawn once, kept on the device only and placed on any page. It is a drawing on the page, like ink on paper, not an electronic signature.
When a phone app is the better choice
To be fair, in many situations an app is more convenient than A4Norm.
- You are scanning right now, and there are many pages. Many apps find the edges of the sheet in the viewfinder and take the shot themselves once the sheet is in frame. A4Norm cannot do that: it works on a finished photo.
- You need text, not an image. Genius Scan (paid), Adobe Scan and CamScanner recognise text, so the PDF is searchable. A4Norm only produces an image of the page.
- Speed depends on the device. A4Norm processes the page in the browser: usually about a second a page, up to a few seconds on slower devices.
- The first visit. On its first run, A4Norm downloads its processor — about two megabytes. After that it comes from the browser's storage and works without a network.
If documents are part of your daily work, install Genius Scan or FairScan: both work on the phone without an account, and FairScan is open source.
When a website is the better choice
- The photo already exists. The paper is gone, the photo is in your gallery. A website works with any finished photo — more in the guide on existing photos.
- You need it once. Installing an app and creating an account for a single bank statement is not worth it.
- You are at a computer. The photos came from your phone, but the PDF is needed on the laptop to upload to a portal.
- You would rather not send the document anywhere. Then pick a website that processes the photo in the browser — A4Norm or scandocument.app — not one that uploads it to a server.
What A4Norm does: it gathers all the photos first, then makes one PDF in exact A4; it puts both sides of an ID card on one page at true size; it keeps a blue signature blue; it opens HEIC photos from an iPhone; it marks a copy with a dated note, covers fields in solid black, adds your signature, erases stains, crops, rotates, reorders and removes pages; it steps the file size down and shrinks a finished PDF that is too big to upload — all on the device. No ads, no account, the scanner core is open, and it installs as an app straight from the browser.
Why it matters for ID copies
Landlords, employers and authorities ask for a copy of your ID card. You would still rather not hand it out more than necessary: it carries your photo, the document number and your signature.
In Germany, an ID card may only be copied by its holder or with the holder's consent, and the copy must be "eindeutig und dauerhaft als Kopie erkennbar" — clearly and permanently recognisable as a copy (§ 20 (2) PAuswG). That is why people write "KOPIE" on such a copy, often with the recipient and the date. In A4Norm that happens under the finished PDF, in "Edit": a note with the date goes next to the card, and fields you do not want to show can be filled with black. What the law asks and what to cover is in the ID card guide.
Every upload to someone else's server is one more copy of your ID, even if only for an hour. For a bank statement that may not matter; for an ID card it is better when a copy exists only where you send it.
How I checked
- Date: all three tables were checked on 27 September 2026. Services change their terms, so each table carries its date.
- Sources: only the services' own pages — product page, help centre, pricing, privacy policy, the App Store or Google Play listing. No reviews, no forums. The number in square brackets leads to the source under the table.
- "Not stated" means the service does not say. The feature may exist, but its own pages do not confirm it.
- I did not install the apps or make scans in them: the tables compare what the services themselves promise.
- For A4Norm — the code of its scanner core, which is open on GitHub, and the scanner page.
- Microsoft Lens is not in the tables: according to Microsoft, new scans were possible only until 9 March 2026, and Microsoft points to OneDrive instead.