Why We Built Yiana

Yiana exists because we couldn’t find an app that did what we needed — simply and without fuss.

The Problem

My workflow is straightforward: I write on paper, receive printed documents, get attachments via email. I wanted a single record per client where I could easily add pages over time. Scan something today, add to it next week.

I wanted to scan to black and white PDF most of the time — clean, sharp, small files. And I wanted to do it with as little fuss as possible. One tap. Done.

Occasionally I need to type something. A quick note, a letter. And occasionally I need to add text to an existing PDF — often to fill in a form that doesn’t have fillable fields. When that happens, I need to position the text precisely. Line it up exactly with the form boxes.

I wanted to use my iPhone, iPad, and Mac — all working on the same documents, seamlessly.

The Frustration

Every app I tried had problems:

  • Too complicated. Settings everywhere. Multiple taps to do simple things.
  • Couldn’t add pages to existing documents easily.
  • Locked my documents in proprietary formats.
  • Required subscriptions for basic features.
  • Didn’t sync reliably.
  • Made it hard to get my files out.

That last one really bothered me. Vendor lock-in. Your documents, held hostage by an app. What happens when the company shuts down? When they raise prices? When they change the app in ways you don’t like?

The Solution

So we built Yiana.

Simple scanning. Two buttons: monochrome and colour. Tap, scan, done.

Easy page management. Add pages to any document at any time. Build up records over time.

Text when you need it. Type notes that become permanent PDFs. Add text to pages with precise positioning for form filling.

Works everywhere. iPhone, iPad, Mac. Same documents, synced via your iCloud.

Your files, your format. Everything is stored as PDF inside standard ZIP files. Rename the extension, extract your PDF. No proprietary formats. No lock-in. Your documents work with or without Yiana.

We chose PDF because it’s been around for over 30 years and isn’t going anywhere. Your grandchildren will be able to open these files.

The Extras

After building the core app, we added some optional power features:

  • OCR processing — A backend service that runs on your Mac and makes scanned documents searchable. Better than built-in iOS OCR for difficult handwriting and unusual layouts.

  • Address extraction — Automatically pulls names and addresses from documents into a database. Useful if you handle lots of correspondence.

But these are entirely optional. They run separately, in the background, and don’t affect the main app. Yiana works perfectly without them. They’re there if you want them, invisible if you don’t.

Our Philosophy

  • Simplicity first. The common tasks should be effortless.
  • Your data is yours. Standard formats, easy export, no lock-in.
  • Privacy by design. Your documents stay in your iCloud. We never see them.
  • Optional complexity. Advanced features exist but stay out of the way.

Yiana is the app we wanted to use. We hope you find it useful too.