egdels/makeacopy

MakeACopy is an open-source document scanner app for Android that allows you to digitize paper documents with OCR functionality. The app is designed to be privacy-friendly, working completely offline without any cloud connection or tracking.

What it solves

MakeACopy is a privacy-focused, offline document scanner for Android that allows users to digitize paper documents into searchable PDFs without relying on cloud services, telemetry, or tracking. It serves as an open-source alternative to tools like Microsoft Lens for users who prefer self-hosted workflows and local data processing.

How it works

The app processes everything on-device using a combination of machine learning and computer vision libraries. It uses a custom-trained ONNX model for automatic document edge detection and OpenCV for image processing and perspective correction. For text recognition, it offers two OCR backends: PaddleOCR (in the published version) and Tesseract (in a legacy version). The app bundles necessary language models and fonts locally to ensure it remains fully functional offline.

Who it’s for

It is designed for Android users who prioritize privacy and control, specifically those who use self-hosted storage systems (like paperless-ngx, Nextcloud, or Syncthing) and want a reliable way to integrate mobile scanning into their document archives.

Highlights

  • 100% Offline: No internet connection, cloud dependencies, or telemetry.
  • Searchable PDFs: Converts scans into PDFs with embedded recognized text.
  • ML-Powered Detection: Uses ONNX and OpenCV for automatic edge detection and perspective correction.
  • Multi-language OCR: Supports 23 languages across various scripts (Latin, CJK, Arabic, Devanagari, etc.).
  • Inbox Mode: Automatically saves scans to a predefined folder for seamless integration with self-hosted sync tools.
  • Accessibility Mode: Provides spoken and haptic feedback for users with accessibility needs.

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