Offline scanner app: scan, make PDFs and recognize text with no internet

Scan in airplane mode: a quick test

1. Open the app once while online

   Install Doc Scanner and open it once with a connection. Your account is set up automatically in the background, and on Android Google Play services may fetch its document scanner component. Buy or restore Premium now too, if you want it.

2. Switch on airplane mode

   Turn off Wi-Fi and mobile data, or switch on airplane mode.

3. Scan a few pages

   Tap the scan button and choose Batch. Hold the phone over each page: the edges are found, the perspective is straightened and the page is captured automatically.

4. Edit and sign

   Crop, rotate, apply Magic Color or B&W with Apply to all pages, and add your saved signature with Sign. All of it happens on the phone.

5. Export a searchable PDF

   Tap Share and choose PDF. Doc Scanner recognizes the text and adds an invisible text layer while you are still offline. Save it to your phone or print it; e-mail and messaging apps send it once you are back online.

6. Pull out the text (Premium)

   Switch the camera to Extract Text and photograph a page, then tap Copy text or Share as TXT. Recognition runs on the device, so it works in airplane mode too.

What works with no connection

Doc Scanner does its work on your phone. After you have opened the app once, these keep working without internet:

• Scanning in Document and Batch mode, with automatic edge detection, perspective correction and auto-capture
• Editing: crop with corner handles, rotate, six filters (Original, Magic Color, Grayscale, B&W, Lighten, Contrast), highlighter, rename
• Signatures: draw once, reuse on any page, free
• ID Card mode, front and back on one page (Premium)
• Exporting to PDF and JPG, with Low, Medium or High quality and Original, A4 or Letter page size
• Searchable PDFs: the invisible text layer is created on the phone, free plan included
• Text recognition on the OCR screen and in the Extract Text camera mode (Premium), plus Word and TXT conversion (Premium)
• Your library: folders, merging documents, moving and deleting, and search inside recognized text
• QR codes: read a code in the camera and copy its value

What naturally needs a connection: the very first launch, signing in with Apple or Google, buying or restoring Premium, and of course sending the finished file by e-mail or a messaging app. The PDF itself is ready offline; the send just waits for a signal.

Text recognition on the device

Doc Scanner's AI-powered OCR uses Google ML Kit, which runs on the phone instead of on a server. That's why recognition keeps working in airplane mode, and why nothing is uploaded for recognition.

You get it in two ways:

• On every exported PDF, free. Doc Scanner reads each page and adds an invisible text layer, so you can search the PDF and select its text in any PDF reader. More on searchable PDFs.
• As text you can copy (Premium). Open a scan's OCR screen, or point the Extract Text camera mode at a page, a sign or a book, then copy the text, share it as TXT or convert it to Word. See image to text.

Text recognition reads Latin-alphabet languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Indonesian, Swedish and Danish. Scanning, PDFs and signatures work with documents in any language.

Why offline also means private

An offline-capable scanner is a privacy feature, not just a travel feature. When scanning, image processing and text recognition happen on the phone, your passport page, your bank letter or your medical form doesn't have to travel to someone else's server to be cleaned up or read.

That's how Doc Scanner is built. Your scans are processed on the phone, and nothing is uploaded for recognition. There are no ads inside the app and no sign-up wall. When you want to share a file, you choose where it goes through your phone's share sheet. For the full picture, see how to choose a safe scanner app.

Not every scanner works this way. Adobe's iPhone troubleshooting page for Adobe Scan (last updated October 2024) lists "a network connection and an Adobe cloud storage connection" as requirements for text recognition. Adobe's 2026 Android release notes do add on-device OCR with downloadable language packs, so the answer there depends on the platform and app version. Comparing the two? Read our Adobe Scan alternatives.

Offline on iPhone and Android

iPhone

Doc Scanner runs on iOS 15.5 or later. Scanning, PDF export and text recognition work in airplane mode, and your documents, with their recognized text, also show up in Spotlight search on the iPhone. Get started with the scanner app for iPhone.

Android

Doc Scanner runs on Android 7.0 or later. Automatic edge detection uses Google Play services' document scanner, which lives on the phone. Open the app once while connected so the component is ready, then scan anywhere. More on the scanner app for Android.

Before a trip

• Open the app once on Wi-Fi and, if you want Premium, buy or restore it then.
• Make a folder for the trip so receipts, tickets and forms stay together.
• Scan as you go; export PDFs at Medium quality so they're small enough for e-mail when you're back online.

Tips for sharp scans anywhere

• Find a flat surface. A tray table, a clipboard or a book cover is enough. A darker background helps edge detection lock on.
• Use the light you have. Turn toward a window or a lamp; avoid your own shadow over the page. Tilt glossy paper or laminated cards slightly to kill glare.
• Pick the right filter. Magic Color for receipts and colourful forms, B&W for text-only pages, Lighten for dim rooms.
• Check the details. Zoom in on names, dates and totals before you move on to the next page.

Scan your first document in seconds

Doc Scanner is free to download for iPhone and Android. No ads, no watermarks, no sign-up required.

Scan with your phone camera to get the app

Sources

1. Adobe Scan for iOS: Troubleshooting (last updated 2024-10-22) (checked 2026-10-01)
2. Adobe Scan for Android: Release notes (on-device OCR, 2026) (checked 2026-10-01)
3. Google ML Kit: Document scanner (runs on-device) (checked 2026-10-01)

Doc Scanner is not affiliated with Adobe and Adobe Scan. Trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Related pages

• Safe scanner appDoc Scanner is a safe scanner app for iPhone and Android: scans and text recognition are processed on your phone. No ads, no sign-up, AES-256 PDF lock.
• Image to textImage to text app for iPhone and Android: Doc Scanner reads text in photos and scans on your phone, offline. Copy it or save TXT or Word (Premium).
• Searchable PDFMake a PDF searchable for free on iPhone or Android. Doc Scanner adds an invisible text layer to every PDF it exports, offline, with no upload needed.
• iPhone scanner appDoc Scanner is a scanner app for iPhone that turns paper into searchable PDFs that Spotlight can find. Free to download. No ads, no watermarks, no sign-up.
• Android scanner appDoc Scanner is a scanner app for Android phones, Samsung Galaxy included: searchable PDFs, free signatures, offline text recognition. No ads, no sign-up.
• Adobe Scan alternativesThe Adobe Scan alternative with no sign-up: Doc Scanner for iPhone and Android makes searchable PDFs with on-device OCR, plus free merge and signatures.
• No adsDoc Scanner is a scanner app with no ads, no watermarks and no sign-up, for iPhone and Android. Scan, sign and export searchable PDFs on the free plan.