So, you’re working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic and you have a document you need to scan. You've seen the slew of third-party scanner apps you have to pay for in the App Store. Which one to choose?

But wait! Before you do that ... did you know Apple put a free, built-in scanner right in your iPhone?

I was today years old when I learned you can scan documents in the Notes app on the phone. — 😺 Cat Jacques 😺 (@CatJacquesESPN) April 7, 2020

That’s right. With the release of iOS 11 back in 2017, Apple rolled out a scanner right within the Notes app. It’s right there waiting for you to use it, and it costs nothing.

Apparently, a bunch of people had no idea there’s been a scanner hidden in their iPhone for years.

wtf the notes app has a document scanner since fucking when — emma🧝🏻‍♀️ (@beanpixiee) April 4, 2020

If that was you, well, now you know! Here’s how to use your iPhone’s scanner:

Go to Apple’s official Notes app on your iPhone. Open an existing note, or create a new one by clicking the little icon on the lower right-hand side of the device. Tap on the camera icon in the menu that appears. Choose "Scan Documents" from the options that pop up. Hold your phone in front of the document you want to scan. If the scanner is in auto mode, the app will automatically detect the document and capture the scan. In manual mode, you’ll have to snap a photo yourself. You can change which mode you’re in on the upper right-hand side of the screen. If you need to adjust the scan, you can drag the corners of the page. Keep scanning if you have additional pages, or tap on "Retake" to automatically discard an image and rescan it. Hit "Save" on the lower right-hand side when you’re done. You now have a PDF of your document.

After scanning the document, you have a number of editing options. You can crop it, switch between a color or black-and-white scan, rotate the document, and add additional pages to the scan. Tap on the name of the document to change the file name at any time.

Once the scanned document is sitting in your note, click on the "Share" button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen to send your PDF wherever it needs to go. You can also use the markup option and add your signature or input text. This is obviously handy if the document you scanned is a form you need to fill out.

There you have it. No need to buy a third-party app from the App Store. Just use the scanner that’s been sitting on your iPhone this whole time.