FreeDocument Scanner
Scan a document and remove shadows
Turn a phone photo of a page into a clean white scan, in colour or black and white.
Drop an image here, or .
Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Document Scanner: how to use it
- Photograph the page from straight above, in even light, and drop the photo in.
- Choose Colour, Greyscale or Black and white, and keep Shadow removal at full strength.
- Adjust Text darkness until the writing is solid, then download.
Tips
- If the page was shot at an angle, square it up with the Perspective Corrector first.
- Black and white makes the smallest file, which suits upload forms with a size limit.
Document Scanner: what it does and when to use it
The Document Scanner turns a phone photo of a page, a receipt, a form or a whiteboard into something that looks scanned: white paper, dark text and no shadows. It estimates the colour of the paper across the whole page, with the text removed, then divides every pixel by it. A grey shadow across the page or a yellow cast from a lamp flattens out to clean white, while the writing stays.
Colour keeps stamps, highlighter and logos. Greyscale is the usual choice for letters and forms. Black and white gives the smallest and sharpest file for text, at the cost of photos on the page, and its threshold decides how faint a stroke can be and still print. Text darkness deepens the ink, and Sharpen the text crisps the letters for easier reading and better OCR.
It does not straighten a page shot at an angle: run the Perspective Corrector first, then scan. To turn several pages into one file, use Image to PDF, and to copy the words out, use Image to Text. The page is processed on your device, which matters for bank statements, IDs and medical letters.
Document Scanner: frequently asked questions
How do I remove shadows from a photo of a document?
Drop the photo in with Shadow removal at full strength. The tool measures the colour of the paper all over the page and evens it out, so the shadow from your hand or phone turns into plain white paper while the text stays dark.
Which mode should I use?
Colour for pages with stamps, signatures in blue or highlighter. Greyscale for most letters and forms. Black and white for text-only pages: the sharpest and smallest file, ideal for upload forms with a size limit.
Can it straighten a page photographed at an angle?
Not by itself. Square the page up first with the Perspective Corrector, then run the scanner, then combine pages with Image to PDF.
Is this a free alternative to a scanner app?
For single pages, yes: it runs in the browser on iPhone and Android with no app to install and no watermark, and the page never leaves your phone. Copy the text out afterwards with Image to Text.