How to Scan and Send Documents From Your Phone
No scanner needed. Your phone makes clean PDF scans in a minute, and these steps work even if you rarely use apps.
1. Get the pages ready
- Lay each page flat on a dark table, in good light. Daylight near a window is best.
- Cover private numbers before you scan. Put a sticky note or a strip of paper over the account number, leaving only the last 4 digits showing. Do the same for a Social Security number. It’s the easiest way to keep numbers private, and you don’t need any app for it.
- Scan every page, even pages that look empty. Offices often ask for “all pages.”
2a. iPhone: scan with the Notes app
- Open Notes and start a new note.
- Tap the paperclip button, then Scan Documents.
- Hold the phone over the page. It takes the picture by itself when the page is in view. If it doesn’t, tap the round button.
- Keep going: put the next page down and it scans again. One scan can hold many pages.
- Tap Done (the check mark) when every page is in.
The Files app works the same way: tap the three dots at the top, then Scan Documents, and save it.
2b. Android: scan with the Google Drive app
- Open Google Drive and tap the camera button at the bottom right.
- Take a picture of the page. Tap + to add the next page.
- Tap Done, type a name, keep the format as PDF, and tap Save.
Tip: before you tap Save, tap Location and pick the private folder Reza shared with you. The scan goes straight to him.
3. A big stack? Do less scanning
- Bank statements: most bank apps and websites let you download statements as PDFs, usually under Statements or Documents. They are sharper than scans and most offices accept them.
- Pay stubs, award letters and tax forms: look for a Documents or Download button in the employer’s or agency’s website first.
- Scan one kind of document at a time, so each one becomes its own file.
- Give each file a plain name, like Bank statement September 2026.
4. Send them
| How many | Easiest way |
|---|---|
| A few pages | Reply to Reza’s email with the scans attached. Tap the Share button on the scan and choose your email app. Only pages with private numbers covered. |
| A lot of pages, or downloaded statements | Upload them to the private folder Reza shares with your email address. Downloaded statements show full account numbers, so send those to the folder only, never by email. |
If an email won’t send because it’s too big, split the pages into two or three emails, or use the folder. Stuck at any step? Reply to Reza’s email and tell him where. He’ll walk you through it in writing.
5. Before you send, check
- Every page is there, right side up, and you can read the small print.
- Only the last 4 digits of account and Social Security numbers show on anything you email.
- Never send passwords or PINs. Reza never needs them.
Files you send are used only for your task, and they are deleted 90 days after the job is done.
General information only, not legal or financial advice. Every company and card issuer has its own rules.
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