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How to Add an Electronic Signature on Android Devices

 

When you need to electronically sign documents on an adroid device, you'll want to follow the instructions in our article to ensure you do it right.


In the offline world, all you need to sign a contract is a pen. There’s no reason it should be any more complicated when you’re using a phone instead. The problem? Many people who use Android devices can sometimes run into issues with electronic signature software that’s designed for Macs, and vice versa.

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution for streamlining these digital agreements. By using a web-based electronic signature solution, you can receive a document in an email, open it up, input the access code, and sign it just as easily as if you were holding a pen. Here’s how it works.

 

Use Your Android Mobile Device to Sign a Document

There’s good news. If you have a business agreement in your email inbox, all you need is an Android device to sign it. No complicated sign-ups, no extra mobile app to download, none of that. But if this is your first time, you will need to know the basic steps. Here’s how to eSign documents on your Android device:

  • Open your email. Assuming someone has used Nitro to request your signature, you should notice a subject line like “So-And-So Has Requested Your Signature.” Click the email and open it. When you’re using Nitro, you’ll notice that we include two key details: 1) who is requesting the signature, and 2) the name of the document in question. You’ll see a link that’s easy to spot.
  • Tap Sign the Document. 
  • Key point: you don’t need to create an account to sign as an eSign recipient. 
  • Once you click Sign the Document, you can review the agreement. This is the same process as if you were reviewing a paper contract or job offer in person.
  • If Two-Factor Authorization is enabled for enhanced security, you’ll have to enter a provided code. This is only four digits, and easy to handle.
  • Once in, you’ll see the areas where you need to sign and date the file. Here’s how it looks on Nitro in an example:
  • To sign these fields, simply click them and begin entering your information.
  • Click Submit.
  • That’s it. Once you’re done, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a link to view the documents for your own records. If you want to review all of the important documents you’ve signed with Nitro, you can create an account.

And that’s it. If you’re using an electronic signature on Android, you simply have to log in to your preferred email—the same email you gave the sender of the document—and go from there. Because Nitro is web-based, you’ll follow the same essential steps no matter where you’re logging in from.

 

Initiating an Electronic Signature Request from Android

The process for adding a digital signature is easy enough to understand. But what if you’re not the receiver, but need to send your PDFs for signing? Can you use an Android device to send out something as complicated as a digital document with flagged areas so a recipient can sign them?

Well, it is the 21st century, after all. You’d be amazed at what you can accomplish with a few clicks. But let’s get specific about how this works.

  • Sign in to your Nitro account. (Yes, to send out documents and request signatures, you’ll have to be on a Nitro account. Don’t worry; there’s a Try for Free option if you want to test this out for yourself.)
  • Select the PDF or file of the contract you want to have someone else sign. 
  • Click on Request Signature to start the process of inviting other parties to sign your document. 
  • This will open a window that only asks for two fields: Name and Email address. That’s it. You don’t have to ask someone else signs up for Nitro just to sign your documents. You only need to know who they are and where you should send the contract.
  • You’re going to need to give them something to sign, however. That means dragging the Signature field for the name you need signed, then dropping it to the appropriate place in the document. 
  • Do the exact same thing with Date, if required.
  • Click Continue. This will bring you to the next step, which is customizing the email message if you want to. However, you can just let the default message work instead; it’s perfectly fine.
  • Click Request Signature. Voila! The document will now go out to the intended users. You’ll receive a notification via email when they’ve viewed and signed the document. Voila! You’re good to go.

Even using Android alone, you can manage your electronic signatures and forms as though you’re at your desk. The only difference? You don’t have to use your pen. And Nitro will handle the storage of each document for you, once you’re signed up to the account.

 

Why Add an Electronic Signature on an Android Device?

It’s tempting to look at this list and wonder why you can’t just sit down with a pen and do it the old-fashioned way. But in today’s digital environment, you also have to consider what you lose if you do approach things that way:

  • Time. Yes, time. It may seem like signing a contract with a pen is the fastest way to do it. But in today’s day and age, you’ll actually have to do more just to go old-school. You’ll have to print out the contract. You’ll have to sign it. You’ll have to find some way to return it, and even then, that often means creating a digital version of the document in the first place. As strange as it might sound, signing an electronic document via Android is much closer to the old tradition of simply bringing out a pen.
  • Storage. With a Nitro account, for example, you’ll have all of your contracts lined up in your account. You can search them, organize them, and access them at any time. You don’t even have to do any filing. You don’t have to buy a bunch of cabinets in your office. You simply have to have the account and prepare the documents. We take care of the rest.
  • Security. With two-factor authorization enabled, you can use a contract-specific code to ensure that your contracts only go out to their intended recipients. This is the online equivalent of handing someone a contract in person, because it gives you that exclusive security that’s hard to find if you were simply using a PDF editor.

 

Adding an Electronic Signature the Right Way

When you sit down and see how easy it is to add your electronic signature to a document like this, you’ll discover something interesting. It’s easier than doing things the old-fashioned way. It’s also a lot more convenient. After all, you’ll easily access each contract’s records once they’re signed and valid.

That isn’t to say that you need a full account today, however. You can poke around and test it out for yourself. If you have an Android device, why not sign up for a free trial of Nitro? You’ll discover how easy it can be to send out a contract, sign a contract, and save a contract—all from the convenience of your favorite Android device. It’s better than a pen. It’s all the conveniences and enhancements of the 21st century, available at your fingertips.