Copy the text out of a screenshot
Drop in a screenshot and get plain text back. Before you do, read the next paragraph — you may not need this page at all.
Show everything the scan found
This tool runs in the browser. The app does the same from your camera, keeps a history, and works offline.
Read this before you use the tool
If you are on an iPhone running iOS 15 or later, open the screenshot in Photos, press and hold on the text, and drag the selection handles. That is Live Text, it is built in, and for ordinary printed text it is better than any web tool. On Android, Google Lens does the same from Photos or the recents screen. On Windows 11, the Snipping Tool has a Text Actions button that copies text straight out of a capture.
Those are free, faster, and already on the device in your hand. Use them.
So when is a tool like this the right answer?
- You are on a desktop browser with a screenshot someone sent you and no OS tool at hand.
- The built-in reader keeps mangling a long run of digits — the numbers-only extractor constrains the alphabet and does better on those.
- The text sits in an app that blocks selection entirely, so there is nothing for Live Text to grab. That is a different problem with a different answer.
- You want an identifier checked rather than merely read — an IMEI, a VIN, an IBAN — where a check digit can prove the read was correct.
Getting a better result
Quality depends almost entirely on the input. A screenshot taken at native resolution reads far better than a photo of a screen, which introduces moire, glare and keystone distortion all at once. If you must photograph a screen, turn the brightness up and shoot square on.
Questions
Is this better than iPhone Live Text?
For ordinary printed text, no — Live Text is excellent and already on your phone. This is useful on desktop, or when you need digits constrained or an identifier verified.
Which languages does it read?
The English model loads by default, which covers most Latin-script text. Accented characters and non-Latin scripts are unreliable here.
Is there a file size limit?
Only your device's memory. Large images take longer because everything is processed locally.
Guides for this
The tool reads the number. These cover where it lives, why a read fails, and what to do with the result.
Best Free OCR Apps for iPhone and Android
The best free OCR app is already on your phone. Here is an honest ranking of the ten worth installing anyway, with real App Store ratings and app sizes.
How to Copy Text From a Screenshot
How to copy text from a screenshot on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac with tools you already have, plus the cases where built-in text recognition fails.
Do this with a camera instead
Your phone will offer its camera right here — the file picker above includes Take Photo. What the app adds is selecting a region on the photo it just took, a paid history of every scan, working with no connection, and no 7 MB engine download. Check-digit verification, on the IMEI, VIN and IBAN tools, is a web feature and is not in the app.