E-Signature App for iPhone

How the e-signature tool works

1. Create your signature

Open any PDF in ScanLens, tap the signature tool, and draw your signature with your finger or Apple Pencil. You can re-draw until you are happy with it. Clear background, adjustable stroke width. The signature is saved locally on your iPhone for reuse.

2. Place it on the document

Drag your saved signature onto the PDF where you want it. Resize by dragging the corners. Move by dragging the center. You can place multiple signatures on the same document — useful for contracts that need signatures on multiple pages or from multiple parties who all use ScanLens.

3. Add dates, initials, and text

Beyond the signature itself, you can add dates, initials, and text annotations to complete standard contract fields. All of these become part of the final PDF.

4. Save and share

The signed PDF is saved locally. From there you can email it, AirDrop it, save to Files, or sync it to iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive. The recipient opens a standard signed PDF — no account needed, no special reader.

Are e-signatures legally binding?

In the US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, and most other developed jurisdictions: yes, for most contracts. The legal basis differs by region but the bottom line is similar — electronic signatures are recognized as legally equivalent to handwritten signatures for routine business and personal transactions.

United States: ESIGN Act and UETA

The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), passed by the US Congress in 2000, establishes that electronic signatures have the same legal weight as ink signatures for most transactions that affect interstate or foreign commerce. Most US states have also adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), which provides similar recognition at the state level.

What this means in practice: for most business contracts, NDAs, sales agreements, service contracts, and consumer transactions, an e-signature is legally enforceable. The main exceptions are wills and testamentary trusts, certain family law documents (adoption, divorce in some states), court orders, some notice requirements, and specific documents that require notarization.

European Union: eIDAS

The eIDAS Regulation (Regulation EU 910/2014) creates a unified legal framework for electronic signatures across the European Union. It defines three tiers:

• Simple Electronic Signature (SES) — any electronic data attached to a document to sign it. This is what ScanLens produces. Recognized in court under eIDAS, cannot be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic.
• Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) — uniquely linked to the signer, capable of identifying them, created under their sole control, and tamper-evident. Requires additional cryptographic infrastructure.
• Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) — an AES issued by a Qualified Trust Service Provider on a qualified signature creation device. Has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature across all EU member states.

For the large majority of business and personal contracts, a Simple Electronic Signature is legally sufficient under eIDAS. If you specifically need AES or QES (for certain regulated industries or particular government submissions), you would use a dedicated platform designed for that purpose.

When you might still need wet ink

Even in jurisdictions that broadly recognize e-signatures, some document types traditionally still require physical signatures or notarization:

• Wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts in most jurisdictions
• Certain court filings and sworn statements
• Some real estate documents, depending on jurisdiction
• Documents that must be notarized (though remote online notarization is becoming widely available)
• Specific regulatory submissions where the law explicitly requires original ink signatures

We are not lawyers and nothing on this page is legal advice. For documents where legal enforceability matters, consult a qualified attorney in your jurisdiction.

Security and privacy

Signatures are personal. We treat them that way.

Stored locally on your device

Your saved signatures live on your iPhone in the app's secure storage. They are not uploaded to a ScanLens server and are not visible to us. Signature data is included in the app's backup to your own iCloud if you have iCloud Backup enabled — that is your backup, not ours.

On-device rendering

When you place a signature on a PDF, the rendering happens locally. The signed PDF is produced on your iPhone. You choose where it goes next — keeping it on your device, sharing it over AirDrop, emailing it, or syncing it to a cloud service you control.

App Lock protection

You can enable Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode lock on the entire ScanLens app. This prevents someone who picks up your unlocked phone from opening ScanLens, accessing your saved signatures, or viewing signed documents.

PDF encryption for signed documents

For extra sensitive signed documents, you can apply AES-256 password protection to the PDF after signing. The recipient needs the password to open the document. See the password-protect PDF feature for details.