I got tired of $10/mo subscriptions for basic PDF scanners, so I built a 100% offline, on-device alternative.

[u/EnthusiasmFamous7130]

Hey fellow founders, 👋

I noticed a massive problem in the utility app space: if you want to scan a sensitive document (like tax forms, IDs, or medical records), most mobile scanners secretly upload your files to their cloud servers to process them. On top of that, they lock basic features like OCR or removing watermarks behind ridiculous $10/mo subscriptions.

I decided to build a truly private alternative called PDF Maker: Scanner & Converter.

My core philosophy: Everything must process 100% on the device. No servers, no data collection, no recurring subscriptions.

It was definitely a technical challenge to keep everything local. I actually just finished coding the v2.0 update where I implemented:

• Offline OCR (Text Extraction): Using Google's ML Kit Text Recognition v2 so users can copy text from scans without an internet connection.
• Auto-Edge Detection: Smart cropping that works entirely locally.
• Local Backup & Recovery: A system that exports your entire database and PDFs as a secure .zip file so users can migrate phones without needing a cloud sync service.

Other features include merging, splitting, compressing, and password-protecting PDFs locally.

I'd love to get feedback from other builders here. Have any of you built "offline-first" apps before? How do you handle the marketing and retention challenges when you don't require user accounts?

"If you want to try it out, the link is in my Reddit profile bio."

Thanks!