Box adds document scanning to its Capture photo-sharing app for iOS

Cloud file syncing and sharing software company Box today announced the addition of a document scanning feature in its Box Capture app for iOS.

Box launched the app in September at its annual BoxWorks conference. Document scanning was one use case the company touted, alongside the ability to easily share photos and videos with colleagues, but the feature hasn’t been supported. That changes today.

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“Document scanning provides an easy way to connect physical documents with digital work environments,” Box product manager Charles Dong wrote in a blog post. “Simply scan a document with your iPhone’s camera and you’ll be able to share and collaborate on the file just like you would with any other document in Box. In fact, the file will benefit from all of Box’s features like granular access-permissions, commenting, tasks and deep integrations with the services you use most, like DocuSign and Salesforce.”

This is another way for Box to flesh out its capabilities and expand usage. Note-taking app Evernote can handle document scanning, but it’s not one of Box’s core competitors. Dropbox doesn’t have native document scanning. Google Drive’s Android app offers document scanning through a widget, but it’s not currently available on iOS.

That might explain why Box currently has no plans to bring the app to Android or Windows Phone, as a spokesperson told VentureBeat in an email.

Box Capture automatically starts scanning documents once a user has turned on Scan Mode. The app saves content to Box, rather than to the iOS device’s camera roll, Dong wrote.

The Box Capture app is available for free on the App Store.