What the tool does
Each page of the PDF is turned into an image and given the small imperfections of a scanner or a photocopier: a slight rotation, a bit of grain and the warm tone of paper instead of pure white. The subtle setting is barely noticeable, normal looks like an ordinary office scan, and heavily scanned looks like a copy that went through an old machine.
You can keep the colors or convert the pages to black and white, which is what most scanned paperwork looks like.
When it makes sense
Some offices, landlords or HR departments ask for "a scanned copy" of a document you already printed and signed by hand, and you may not have a scanner nearby. This tool gives a digital file the look they expect. It also suits designers and teachers who want a paper feel for a mockup, a presentation or a printed handout.
Be honest with it. The tool changes how a document looks, not what it is. Use it for documents that are yours and true, and do not use it to pass one document off as another or to make anyone believe something was signed or printed when it wasn't. If what you really need is a scan of a paper page, Scan to PDF uses your camera to make one.
What changes in the file
Because every page becomes an image, the text can no longer be selected, copied or searched, and links and form fields are lost. Keep the original PDF if you might need any of that later.
Images are heavier than text, so the scanned version is usually larger than the original. If a portal limits the size, run the result through Compress PDF afterwards. To add a searchable text layer back, OCR PDF can read the pages again.
Private and free
The PDF is processed in your browser. It is not uploaded to a server and nothing is stored, so you can use it with contracts, forms and personal records. It is free, with no account and no watermark, on a phone or a computer. If the PDF has a password, remove it first with Unlock PDF.
The whole document is converted at once, every page with the same look, so a multi-page contract or form keeps a consistent appearance from the first page to the last. Nothing is added to the content: no stamps, no signatures, no text that wasn't already there.