Technologies

Here’s How to Use Your iPhone’s Hidden Document Scanner, Just in Time for Tax Season

Sign, scan and send official documents, straight from your iPhone — no scanner necessary.

It’s pretty easy to digitally sign important documents these days from your computer or phone. But sometimes they’re handed to you as physical paper, and it’s up to you to sign it, scan it and send it over email. When you just have to put your signature on a real-life document, but you don’t have a standalone scanner handy, the easiest method to do it is right in your pocket — using your iPhone to turn images into PDFs.

Yes, your iPhone doubles as a document scanner. It may not produce images as sharp as a dedicated scanner would, but it does a respectable job, even when the phone is positioned at odd angles, trying to capture text. iPhones have had this hidden feature since iOS 11 launched in 2017, but as the cameras built into Apple phones have improved, so has their ability to take decent scans of documents and turn them into PDFs you can email.

You won’t need to download additional software or pay for a third-party app — Apple’s Notes app that comes preinstalled on iPhones does the trick. The good news is that it’s quick and easy to scan a document, save it, and send it wherever it needs to go. If you’ve kept your phone upgraded to the latest version of iOS 26, it’s easy to use this feature. Keep in mind that the process will be different if you haven’t upgraded past iOS 17, but we’ll walk you through it.

Here’s how to scan a document with your iPhone.

Scan a document with your iPhone or iPad

To scan a document with your iPhone or iPad, first place the document on a flat surface in a well-lit area.

Open up the Notes app and either open an existing note or start a new one by tapping the New Note button in the bottom right corner (pencil-in-square icon). On iOS 17 versions and older, tap the Camera button at the bottom of the screen (or if you’re editing a note, the same Camera icon will be above the keyboard) and tap Scan Documents. If you’re on iOS 26, instead of a Camera icon, you’ll tap the Attachments button (the paperclip icon) and likewise tap Scan Documents.

This will open a version of the Camera app that just looks for documents. Once you position your iPhone over the document that needs scanning and in view of the camera, a yellow rectangular layer will automatically appear over the document, showing approximately what will be captured. Hover over the document for a few seconds, and the iPhone should automatically capture and scan the document, but you can also tap the Shutter button in the bottom center. You can scan multiple documents at once if you’d like, and when you’re done, tap the yellow checkmark button in the top-right corner.

Sign, share or save your scanned document

Once you’ve captured a document, you can tap it, and others you’ve captured in the same session, to edit them before saving them. You can also tap Retake in the top right corner to start again.

When you edit the document, you can re-crop it from the original photo captured (if you need to tweak its edges), switch between color filters (color, black and white, grayscale or the unedited original photo). Then you can save the scanned document.

Once it’s saved into a note, you can tap the Markup button (circled pen icon) at the bottom to sketch or scribble with different colors. If you tap the Add button on the bottom right (plus sign icon), you can add text, your signature, shapes or even stickers. Once you’ve added a signature, you can tap it to bring up a menu, then tap the diagonal line to edit its thickness and color. You can tap and hold the signature to move it around.

There are also AI tools for adding and rewriting text, though they aren’t helpful for signing documents. To use them, tap the button in the center that looks like a diagonal pencil stylus surrounded by a circle of loops.

To send or locally save the document, tap Share button at the top (the square-and-arrow icon) to send it via Messages or apps, copy it, save it locally to the Files app, print it out via linked printer or other options.

How to export your scanned document as a PDF

Understandably, you may want to send your scanned document as a PDF. Tap the Share button at the top (the square-and-arrow icon) and scroll down below the contact and app roulettes to the additional list of options.

The easiest way to send your scanned document as a PDF is a bit convoluted: among the aforementioned list, tap Print and then tap the Share button at the top (square-and-arrow icon) once more — this will share your PDF-converted document. Then pick your share method of choice, most easily via email, though you can also upload it to cloud storage or send it via text message if you want.

You can also use a third-party app to convert your document to PDF if you so choose. Scroll down past the Print button to find your app of choice. For instance, if you have the Adobe Acrobat app downloaded to your device, you can select Convert to PDF in Acrobat to do so — though you’ll need to wade past several screens attempting to upsell you on Adobe subscriptions first.

Why can’t I find the camera button to scan documents?

If you’re running iOS 26, the Camera button has been replaced with an Attachments button (paperclip symbol). It should function just the same: Tap it and choose Scan Documents from the dropdown menu

If you can’t see the Camera or the Attachments button, check to see if you’ve opened the note in either the iCloud section or the On My iPhone section — you’ll only be able to scan documents and save them in either of these places. If you can’t tell, tap Folders in the top left corner of the Notes screen and select either iCloud or On My iPhone.

The document scanner is just one of many unnoticed iPhone features that come prepackaged in Apple’s handsets, often nested in the apps that come with your phone. Some hidden iOS 26 features add even more surprising capabilities already on your iPhone. But you can also find ways to do other tasks, like making a GIF on your iPhone, using third-party apps and through your browser.

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”