For a display problem, a screenshot helps a great deal: side button + volume up on iPhone, power + volume down on Android, at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
How do I scan a document?
Tap the camera button and frame the sheet. The iPhone finds the edges on its own and straightens the page, even if you photograph it at an angle. You can put several pages into the same document.
Where are my documents saved?
On your iPhone, in the app’s private space, with a copy in your own iCloud, updated a few seconds after each change. Nobody else can reach it: there is no server of ours. You can turn this copy off in Settings → iCloud backup; your documents then stay on the iPhone only. This copy does not show in the Files app or on icloud.com: it is there for Scan Cam alone. To get your documents as PDFs, open Settings → Export everything.
I have an Android phone. What is different?
Very little: Scan Cam is on Google Play, with the same tools, the same nine languages and the same Pro subscription. Three differences:
The copy of your documents goes to your own Google Drive, if you agree: the app offers it after your first document, and the Google Drive backup switch in the settings turns it on or off at any time. It brings your documents back if you reinstall the app or change phones. It is kept in a space reserved for the app, invisible in the Google Drive app.
The subscription is managed and cancelled in the Google Play app: tap your profile picture, then “Payments & subscriptions”, then “Subscriptions”. Cancelling before the end of the free trial costs nothing.
Remove shadows is not available on Android yet.
There is a shadow on my page. What can I do?
Open the document, go to Filters and turn on Remove shadows. The shadow goes and the paper is white again all over. You can turn it off straight away if you do not like the result: the original photograph is always kept.
How do I export to PDF?
Open the document and tap Share, then choose the format. PDF and JPEG are free; Word and Excel are part of the Pro subscription. From there you can send the file, save it to the Files app, or print it.
What is free and what is paid for?
Scanning, filing, folders, search, filters, adding text, printing and exporting to PDF are free, with no time limit and no limit on how many. Free PDFs carry a small “Scanned with Scan Cam” line at the foot of the page.
The Pro subscription removes that line and adds text recognition, signature, watermark, merging documents, pulling pages out, and export to Word and Excel.
How do I manage or cancel my subscription?
From your Apple Account settings, on your iPhone: that is where, and only where, a subscription is managed and cancelled. The app cannot do it for you, since Apple takes the payment. Cancelling before the end of the free trial costs nothing.
Can I import a PDF I already have?
Yes. In the library, tap Import → Files and pick the PDF: each page becomes a page of the document, just like a scanned page, and every tool works on it. Importing is free. A password-protected PDF, or one of more than 100 pages, is refused.
Does text recognition need the internet?
No. The text is read by your iPhone itself, with no connection, and the contents of your documents are never sent to an outside service. It reads the Latin alphabet, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
What languages is the app available in?
French, English, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Japanese, Chinese and Korean. The language is changed in the app’s settings.
I deleted a document by mistake.
Deleting a document erases it from the phone and, a few seconds later, from its copy in iCloud: there is no bin. If your iPhone’s backup by Apple was on, a full restore of the phone can bring it back.
What happens to my documents if I delete the app?
If Scan Cam’s iCloud backup is on — it is by default —, they are waiting in your iCloud: reinstall the app, or install it on a new iPhone signed in to the same Apple Account, and they come back on their own. If you turned it off, they are erased with the app, because iOS erases its private space when it is deleted.
Before deleting the app, open Settings → Export everything: all your documents are gathered into a single file, each one as a PDF filed in its folder, which you can save to Files, to iCloud Drive or to a computer. And if you only want to free up space, “Offload App” in the iPhone’s settings removes the app while keeping your documents.