Frequently Asked Questions

Open the app and tap Create Account on the login screen. Enter your name, email address, and a strong password. You must agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to register.

On the login screen tap Forgot Password? and enter your email address. A recovery email will be sent. If you do not receive it, check your spam folder. Note: password recovery requires the email address used during registration.

No. An account is required so your documents and settings can be tied to a secure, encrypted profile. All data stays on your device — the account is local-only and is not sent to any server.

Go to Settings → Security → Two-Factor Authentication. Tap Enable MFA and scan the QR code with an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator or Authy. Enter the 6-digit code to confirm, then save your backup codes in a safe place.

During MFA setup you are given one-time backup codes. Store these somewhere safe (not only on this device). Use a backup code to log in if your authenticator is unavailable. If you have lost both your authenticator and backup codes, please contact support.

Yes. Each account stores its own documents, categories, and backups completely separately. Switch accounts by logging out of the current account and logging in with different credentials.

DocsShelf supports PDF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, HEIC, and WebP files. When scanning with the camera you can choose to save as PDF or as an image (JPEG/PNG).

Tap the Scan tab, select PDF format, then scan your first page. After confirming it, tap Add Another Page to continue. When you have scanned all pages, tap Combine & Save to merge them into a single PDF.

• Ensure adequate lighting — natural light produces the best results.
• Hold the camera steady and wait for autofocus to lock before tapping the shutter.
• Tap the screen on the document to manually set the focus point.
• Use the edge-sense document scanner which automatically detects and crops document edges.

Go to the Documents tab and tap the + button. Select Upload File to open the file picker. Choose any supported file from your device storage or cloud drives connected to your device.

You can add and edit notes for any document. Full annotation (drawing, highlights) is not supported in this version and is planned for a future release.

In the Documents list swipe left on a document to reveal the Delete button, or open the document, tap the menu (⋯) and choose Delete. Deleted documents are permanently removed and cannot be recovered unless you have a backup.

When you scan or import an image-based document, DocsShelf automatically extracts text using on-device OCR. This text is then searchable. OCR runs in the background and may take a moment on large files.

Search checks the document filename, OCR-extracted text, and your manually written notes. If OCR has not finished processing a recently added document, try again after a minute. For handwritten text, OCR accuracy depends on legibility.

Go to Settings → Categories, or tap Manage Categories in the Documents tab. Tap + to create a new category. You can assign a colour, an icon, and optionally nest it under a parent category to create a hierarchy.

Open the document, tap Edit (or the menu ⋯), and change the Category field. Tap Save to confirm.

There is no enforced limit. However, for best performance and usability, organising into a manageable hierarchy (under 200 categories) is recommended.

By default, backups are stored inside the app's private storage on your device. This storage is deleted if you uninstall the app. To keep a backup safe, always tap Share (Recommended) after creating one to save it to Google Drive, another cloud service, or your device's Downloads folder.

Go to Settings → Backup & Restore → Create Backup. Wait for the backup to complete, then tap Share (Recommended) to save it outside the app. Do not rely on the internal-only copy for reinstallation.

Go to Settings → Backup & Restore → Restore. Tap Select Backup File and locate your .docsshelf backup file (from Google Drive, Downloads, etc.). Enter your backup password if one was set, then confirm the restore.

A full backup includes all your documents (files), categories, tags, notes, and settings. Encrypted documents are backed up in their encrypted form. Your account password is NOT stored in the backup file.

If you previously shared a backup to Google Drive, Downloads, email, or another external location, you can restore from that file after reinstalling. Internal-only backups are deleted on uninstall. The developer cannot recover data that was not externally backed up.

Auto Backup creates a backup automatically on a schedule (daily, weekly, or monthly). These backups are stored internally inside the app. You must still tap Share on any backup you want to preserve across reinstalls or device changes.

When creating a backup you will be prompted to optionally set a backup password. This encrypts the backup file itself. You must remember this password — it cannot be recovered and the backup cannot be opened without it.

Statistics are per-account. If you recently switched accounts or logged in with a different email, the count reflects only the backups for your current account. Backups created under a different account are not shown.

Documents are encrypted using AES-256-GCM. The encryption key is derived from your account password using Argon2id. Your plain-text password is never stored anywhere on the device.

No. DocsShelf is 100% offline. Documents, passwords, and personal data never leave your device. There are no servers, no cloud sync, and no analytics that include your documents.

All app data (documents, categories, settings, and internal backups) is permanently deleted when you uninstall the app. Always share backups externally before uninstalling.

Yes. Go to Settings → Security → Biometric Login and enable it. Biometric authentication is used instead of your password on subsequent logins. Your password is still required as a fallback if biometric authentication fails.

Go to Settings → Security → Change Password. Enter your current password, then your new password twice. All encrypted documents are automatically re-encrypted with the new key.

1. Force-close the app and reopen it.
2. If the crash persists, clear the app cache: Android Settings → Apps → DocsShelf → Storage → Clear Cache. This does not delete your documents.
3. If the problem continues, reinstall — but ensure you have an external backup first.

Passwords are case-sensitive. Check that Caps Lock is not on. If you are certain the password is correct, verify you are using the correct account email. If you have MFA enabled, ensure your authenticator app time is synchronised.

• Place the document on a plain contrasting background (e.g., white paper on a dark desk).
• Ensure there is sufficient lighting and the document is fully visible within the frame.
• Try manually tapping the corners to define the crop area.

This usually means no sharing apps (Drive, Gmail, etc.) are available or the file path is inaccessible. Ensure Google Drive or another app is installed. Try tapping Share again — sometimes a one-time permission dialog needs to be accepted first.

Large numbers of documents (1,000+) with unoptimised thumbnails can slow loading. Go to Settings → Storage & Performance → Optimise Database to run a VACUUM and rebuild indexes. Also ensure the device has sufficient free storage.

Go to Settings → About → Feedback and send us an email, or write directly to support@docsshelf.com. Include the app version (shown on the About screen), a description of the issue, and steps to reproduce it. We read every report.

Selective backups only include documents in specific categories at the time of backup. Check whether a full or selective backup was used. Also confirm the backup file date — only documents that existed before the backup was created are included.