TL;DR
Use the built-in Notes app to scan receipts, letters, and contracts as clean PDFs without installing another scanner app.
How to scan a document
- Open the Notes app.
- Create a new note or open an existing one.
- Tap the paperclip or camera icon.
- Choose Scan Documents.
- Hold your iPhone over the page. The scan often happens automatically; otherwise tap the shutter button.
- Adjust the corners if needed and tap Keep Scan.
- Scan more pages or tap Save.
Why it is useful
For single receipts, letters, forms, or contracts, you usually do not need a separate scanner app. Notes detects document edges, straightens the page, and can keep several pages together. You can then use the share sheet to send the scan as a PDF, save it to Files, or email it.
Privacy upside
Many scanner apps ask for broad permissions, show ads, or push subscriptions. If you only scan documents from time to time, the built-in iPhone scanner is often the cleaner option: fewer apps, less tracking risk, and no extra account to manage.
Good to know
A dedicated scanner app can still make sense for big paper stacks, OCR-heavy workflows, or automatic filing. For everyday documents, try Notes first before downloading another app from the App Store.