How I scan documents with my Android phone and turn them into PDFs for free - it's easy

4 days ago 12

ZDNET key takeaways

You don't have to install third-party apps to create PDFs.
The process is built in and free to use.
Use caution when creating PDFs of sensitive information.

At some point, you're going to need to create and send a PDF document from your Android phone. To make that happen, I'm sure you've scoured the Google Play Store, only to wonder, "Which app is best and safest?"

With reports of malicious apps found on both Android and iOS, it's become crucial that you place security at the top of your list. That's why I always recommend you try the preinstalled apps before heading to the store.

Also: I tried Google's new desktop app for Windows, and I'll never search the old way again

Such is the case with creating PDFs on Android from paper documents. You don't have to install any software, because the ability is baked right into the Google Drive app. Let me show you how easy it is.

How to turn your scans into PDFs on Android

What you'll need: To make this work, you'll need the Google Drive app installed on your phone. Lucky for you, your Android device should have it preinstalled.

The first thing to do is open the Google Drive app on your phone. This can be done either from a home screen launcher or from the App Drawer.

Tap + at the bottom right corner and then tap Scan from the menu.

Also: How to turn on Data Saver mode on your Android phone - and why it's critical to do so

Point your camera at the first page of whatever document you want to scan. Scan it, and then keep repeating this process until you've scanned every page needed. Once you've scanned every page, tap the right-pointing arrow button at the bottom right of the screen.

On the resulting page, you can enhance your scans if necessary, using filters, cropping/rotating, and a cleaning tool. Once you've finished with that, click Next.

Next, you'll need to name your scan (making sure to select PDF), and upload it. If you know you want to upload the scan to a specific location, you can tap the drop-down and then select the Google Drive folder that will house the scan.

Also: How to easily encrypt your files on an Android phone - for free

Your scan is now available in the Google Drive folder you've chosen. Once you've uploaded the file, you can then share it from within Google Drive. You'll be surprised at how clear the results are.

An important caveat

One thing to keep in mind is that, if you're scanning sensitive documents, the Google Drive app does not give you the ability to encrypt or password-protect the file. On top of that, the PDF will be in your Google Drive account.

For me, if I ever upload a document with sensitive information to Google Drive, I always delete it after it's been shared. You do not want to leave sensitive information in Google Drive.

Also: 5 Google Drive tips to help you prevent disasters

And that's how simple it is to create a PDF document on your Android phone. One good thing about this is that those PDF files are not saved on your device, so you don't have to worry about them taking up space.

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