Privacy Index: document scanner apps (2026)

Of 16 document scanner apps checked on public store data, 10 of the 13 with an App Store privacy label declare data used to track you. The cleanest are FairScan, OpenScan and Lapnito's Scan to PDF, which tie at 9.5 out of 10 in our privacy profile, followed by TurboScan on iOS and the open-source OSS Document Scanner. CamScanner and Adobe Scan finish last. A scanner sees your passports, contracts and medical letters, so this ranking looks at privacy only.

Comparison at a glance

#	App	Score	Price	Ads	Subscription	Tracking / linked data	Android trackers	Last update	Get it
1	FairScan fairscan.org	9.5	Free	No	None	Play: No	0	2026-09	Google Play
2	OpenScan Ethereal Developers	9.5	Free	No	None	Play: No	0	2026-10	Google Play
3	Scan to PDF: Sign & Redact ◆ lapnito.cz s.r.o.	9.5	Free	No	None	tracking: No, 0 linked	Not stated	2026-07	App Store · Google Play
4	TurboScan Piksoft Inc.	9.0	Free	Not stated	Not stated	tracking: No, 0 linked	Not stated	2026-11	App Store
5	OSS Document Scanner Akylas	8.3	Free	No	None	Play: No	1	2026-10	Google Play
6	Doc Scan IFUNPLAY CO., LTD.	5.9	Free	Not stated	Optional	tracking: Yes, 0 linked	Not stated	2026-11	App Store
7	Scanner Pro Readdle Technologies Limited	5.7	Free	Not stated	Not stated	tracking: Yes, 0 linked	Not stated	2026-11	App Store
8	Genius Scan The Grizzly Labs	4.7	Free	No	Optional	tracking: No, 2 linked	2	2026-11	App Store · Google Play
9	vFlat Scan VoyagerX, Inc.	2.5	Free	No	Optional	tracking: Yes, 0 linked	4	2026-10	App Store · Google Play
10	Tiny Scanner TinyWork Apps	2.0	Free	Yes	Optional	tracking: Yes, 4 linked	7	2026-09	App Store · Google Play
11	Notebloc Scanner Notebloc Scanner SCP	2.0	Free	Yes	Optional	tracking: Yes, 4 linked	10	2026-10	App Store · Google Play
12	iScanner BP Mobile LLC	1.5	Free	No	Optional	tracking: Yes, 7 linked	18	2026-11	App Store · Google Play
13	SwiftScan Maple Media Apps, LLC	1.5	Free	No	Optional	tracking: Yes, 4 linked	30	2026-11	App Store · Google Play
14	Clear Scan Indy Mobile App	1.5	Free	Yes	Optional	tracking: Yes, 4 linked	10	2026-08	App Store · Google Play
15	CamScanner INTSIG Information Co., Ltd	1.2	Free	Yes	Optional	tracking: Yes, 0 linked	14	2026-11	App Store · Google Play
16	Adobe Scan Adobe Inc.	1.0	Free	No	Optional	tracking: Yes, 7 linked	11	2026-11	App Store · Google Play

Scores (0–10) come from our published methodology and are calculated without the developer's name. Facts are read from store listings, privacy labels and Exodus Privacy reports on the verification date.

Disclosure: apps marked ◆ are made by lapnito.cz s.r.o., the company that runs this site. They were scored with the same methodology as every other app, without the developer's name, and the ranking is published unchanged (here: position 3 of 16).

Open data (CSV / JSON)

How we picked

This index uses public data only. For each app we read the App Store page (privacy label, in-app purchases, last update), the Google Play page ("Contains ads" and the Data safety section) and, for Android, the Exodus Privacy report, which lists tracker signatures and permissions found by static analysis. Everything was verified on 2026-11-08. The listing is a claim by the developer, and an Exodus report is not proof that a tracker is active. Where a fact is missing we left it out instead of guessing, which is why some iOS-only apps carry "unknown" flags.

The score follows the privacy profile of our methodology: privacy declarations count 70 percent, requested permissions 20 percent and maintenance 10 percent. The order below is the order the scorer returned, including ties. Lapnito, the publisher of this site, makes one of the apps and it went through the same scorer as the rest. This index is about privacy only. If you want a broader comparison by price and subscriptions, see our article on PDF scanner apps without a subscription.

Clean tier

These five apps declare no tracking and, where data exists, almost no collection or sharing.

1. FairScan (Android)

Score 9.5. The Play listing says it is open source and works offline. Data safety shows nothing collected or shared, there are no ads, and the Exodus report finds 0 trackers and 4 permissions. Last updated 20 September 2026. Limit: Android only.

2. OpenScan (Android)

Score 9.5. Described on Google Play as a privacy-friendly open-source scanner. No data collected or shared, no ads, no in-app purchases, 0 trackers and 3 permissions in Exodus. Updated 17 October 2026. Limit: Android only and the listing shows no rating yet.

3. Scan to PDF: Sign & Redact (Lapnito)

Score 9.5. Lapnito's own app. The App Store label reads "Data Not Collected"; on Google Play (listed as Document Scanner PDF) Data safety shows nothing collected or shared, no ads and no in-app purchases. The listing mentions on-device OCR, signing and redaction. Limits: new, with no ratings yet, and no Exodus report exists, so its Android trackers are not counted.

4. TurboScan (iOS)

Score 9.0. The free iOS listing carries "Data Not Collected" and offers a Premium in-app purchase. Limit: we scored the iOS app only, because the Android edition is a separate, paid TurboScan Pro listing whose Data safety section lists sharing. Ads and permissions are unknown for iOS, which cost it points.

5. OSS Document Scanner (Android)

Score 8.3. Open source on GitHub; Play shows no data collected or shared, no ads, no purchases. Exodus finds one tracker signature and 9 permissions, including storage and biometric. Limit: Android only.

Mixed tier

These apps declare tracking or sharing in part, or leave a lot unknown.

6. Doc Scan (iOS)

Score 5.85. The label declares identifiers used to track you and identifiers and usage data not linked to you. It has subscription and fax-credit purchases. Limit: iOS only here, ads unknown.

7. Scanner Pro (iOS)

Score 5.68. Readdle's Scanner Pro declares identifiers for tracking and identifiers, usage data and diagnostics not linked to you. Limit: iOS only, so Android signals are unknown.

8. Genius Scan

Score 4.65. The iOS label declares no tracking, but lists contact info and user content linked to you. On Google Play there are no ads, with Exodus showing 2 trackers (analytics and crash reporting) and an approximate-location permission. Limit: account data is linked to you.

Heavy tier

These eight declare tracking on iOS and, mostly, many trackers on Android.

9. vFlat Scan

Score 2.53. iOS declares identifiers and usage data for tracking. Play lists data sharing that includes photos and videos, with 4 trackers in Exodus and no ads label.

10. Tiny Scanner

Score 2.0. Tracking on iOS (usage data) and four data types linked to you. Play says it contains ads; Exodus shows 7 trackers.

11. Notebloc Scanner

Score 2.0. iOS declares location, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics for tracking. Play says it contains ads, with 10 trackers in Exodus.

12. iScanner

Score 1.5. Six data categories are used to track you on iOS, including purchases and location. Exodus shows 18 trackers, although Play carries no ads label.

13. SwiftScan

Score 1.5. iOS declares contact info, identifiers and usage data for tracking. Play says no data is shared and shows no ads label, yet Exodus lists 30 tracker signatures, the highest count here.

14. Clear Scan

Score 1.5. Location, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics are used for tracking on iOS. Play says it contains ads; Exodus shows 10 trackers.

15. CamScanner

Score 1.18. iOS declares identifiers and usage data for tracking. Play says it contains ads and shares device IDs; Exodus shows 14 trackers and 40 permissions, including location.

16. Adobe Scan

Score 1.0. iOS declares identifiers for tracking and seven data types linked to you. Play shows no ads, but Exodus shows 11 trackers and 33 permissions, including contacts and microphone.

OCR and cloud processing versus on-device

Text recognition (OCR) can run on the phone or on a server. Both Apple and Google ship on-device recognition: see Apple's Vision documentation and Google's ML Kit text recognition. Whether an app uses it is up to the developer. A privacy label that says "Data Not Collected" is a strong sign that pages stay on the device, while "User Content" linked to you suggests uploads, for example for sync or cloud OCR. Read the listing text for words like "offline" or "on-device" and check whether features such as cloud backup are optional.

When not to use an app

Do not use any third-party scanner for documents you cannot risk losing control of, such as signed contracts with sensitive terms or ID copies for high-risk processes, unless the listing clearly says processing is local. Some uses call for the official channel instead, for example a tax or court portal with its own upload tool. This index also has limits: store labels are self-declared, Exodus finds signatures and not activity, and it says nothing about app security or encryption of your files.

FAQ

Is a scanner app that is free to download private?

Not necessarily. Free apps often fund themselves with ads or analytics. Check the privacy label and, on Android, "Contains ads" and Data safety.

What does "Data Used to Track You" mean?

On the App Store it means data is linked with third-party data for advertising or shared with data brokers, according to Apple's label definitions. Ten of the thirteen iOS labels here include it.

Are open-source scanners safer?

Open code lets others inspect it, and the open-source apps here score best, but the listing still has to match what the build does. Prefer apps that also show clean store declarations.

Does a high tracker count prove that the app spies on me?

No. Exodus reports signatures found by static analysis, not proof of activity. A high count still means more third-party code, and more companies that may receive data.

Why does the same app differ between iPhone and Android?

Each store has its own label and its own build. TurboScan is a good example: the iOS and Android listings are separate products, so we scored only the iOS one.

What changed

2026-11-08: First version.