Scan pages with your phone, get the PDF on your computer — no cloud in between
QR code, camera, perspective correction, encrypted direct transfer, PDF.
Scan to PDF from phone now — free →Scanning with a phone usually means a cloud round-trip and an app that keeps your pages. Bindery shows a QR code whose link carries a one-time key; the phone opens it in its browser, photographs each page, finds the paper and straightens it, encrypts the image with that key and sends it straight to your computer over a WebRTC data channel. Bindery’s servers relay only the connection handshake.
Pages appear on the computer as they arrive; make a PDF, then run OCR to make it searchable. Both devices should be on the same network; a public STUN server can be switched on to help across networks (addresses only — pages still travel directly). Bindery runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded, so there is nothing to delete from a server afterwards.
How it works
- Open Scan from phone on your computer and point the phone camera at the QR code
- Capture each page on the phone — it is straightened and sent immediately
- Make a PDF on the computer, then OCR it if you want searchable text
Your phone as a scanner, without the cloud
Phone scanning apps usually route pages through their cloud and keep them. Bindery shows a QR code whose link carries a one-time key. The phone opens it in its browser — no app — photographs each page, finds the paper, straightens the perspective, encrypts the image with that key and sends it straight to your computer over a WebRTC data channel. Bindery’s servers relay only the connection handshake. Pages appear on the computer as they arrive; make the PDF, then run OCR so it is searchable.
- Receipts and expenses at the end of a trip.
- Signed paper contracts, IDs and certificates that must become a PDF today.
- Notes, whiteboards and book pages.
Networks, and getting a clean scan
A direct connection needs a route between the two devices, so both should be on the same Wi-Fi. Across networks, switch on the public STUN option: addresses are exchanged through a Google STUN server so the devices can usually connect, and the pages still travel directly. For quality, fill the frame and keep the page flat and evenly lit; the perspective correction handles the angle. Faint or skewed results can be improved afterwards with Clean scanned PDF, and the finished document shrinks well with Compress.
Direct transfer versus a scanning app
| Scan from phone | Bindery | Upload-based tools |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file is processed | In your browser tab, on your device | Uploaded to the service’s servers |
| Path | Phone to computer directly, encrypted with a key from the QR code | Phone to the app’s cloud, then to you |
| App | None; the phone’s browser | An installed app with its own account |
| What the vendor keeps | Nothing — only a handshake is relayed | Often the pages |
| What exists afterwards | The original and the new file, both on your device | A server copy until the retention window ends |
| Works offline | Yes, once the app has loaded | No |
Questions people ask
Does the phone need an app?
No. The scan page runs in the phone’s browser; the camera is used through the standard web camera API.
Where do the photos go?
From the phone straight to the computer that showed the QR code, encrypted with the key from the code. They are not uploaded anywhere.
Why must both devices be on the same network?
A direct connection needs a route between them. Turning on STUN exchanges public addresses through a Google STUN server so devices on different networks can usually connect; pages still travel directly.
Which phones work?
Any recent iPhone or Android phone with a modern browser. The camera is used through the standard web camera API; nothing is installed.
Can I scan directly on the computer instead?
Yes — if the computer has a scanner, scan to JPG or PDF and use JPG to PDF or the other tools. Scan from phone is for when the phone camera is the scanner.
Is the connection secure on public Wi-Fi?
Pages are encrypted with the key from the QR code before they leave the phone and decrypted on the computer. The network in between sees ciphertext.