You do not need a desk scanner to make a digital copy of a letter or receipt. The Google Drive app on Android can turn paper into a PDF and save it in your Drive account. This guide uses the mobile app, not the Drive website.
By The Tech Helper Team
Before you start, decide whether you are comfortable storing this document in Google Drive. For sensitive paperwork, use the method requested by the organisation receiving it.
Scan your first page
- Open Google Drive on your Android phone and tap the Camera button at the bottom right.
- Point your camera at the paper. The blue outline shows the proposed crop. Take the picture; you can choose Manual or Auto capture.
- Review it. Use Crop & Rotate to correct the edges, or Retake if the words are blurry.
- For another page, tap Add (the plus sign). Repeat until the document is complete.
- Tap Done, choose a clear filename, and select .pdf, rather than .jpg.
- Use Location to choose the destination folder, then tap Save.
These controls are described in Google’s Android scanning instructions.
Check it before sending
Open the saved PDF and inspect every page. Can you read the smallest print? Are the page edges, dates and signatures visible? Is anything missing or out of order? A useful filename, such as “Boiler service receipt October 2026”, will be easier to recognise later than “Scan”.
If the result is poor, try again with the paper flat on a contrasting surface and light falling across the whole page. Keep your phone parallel to the paper and avoid casting a shadow over it. Do not discard an important original simply because you have scanned it.
Share it with the right person
If the recipient accepts a Drive link, you can give a particular person access instead of making the document available to everyone with the link.
- Beside the saved file in Drive, tap More (the three dots), then Share.
- Enter the recipient’s email address carefully.
- Choose Viewer if they only need to read it.
- Leave Notify people selected if you want an email alert sent, then tap Send.
Use Manage access to review who can open the file. Under general access, Restricted limits access to people who have been given permission. Anyone with the link allows anyone who obtains that link to open it. Work and school accounts may have additional sharing restrictions. See Google’s sharing instructions.
If an organisation asks you to upload a PDF through its own website, follow those instructions rather than assuming a Drive link will be accepted. Double-check both the document and its destination before submitting it.
Using an iPhone instead? See our guide to scanning a document on iPhone and sending it as a PDF.
Researched and drafted with AI assistance. Instructions checked against Google’s official help pages on 31 October 2026; not hands-on device testing. App menus can change.