Picture to Text: Read the Text in a Phone Photo

Take a photo of a page, sign, menu or whiteboard, upload it, and get the words back as text you can copy and edit. Language is detected automatically.

For any other image file, use Image to Text. For screenshots, use Screenshot to Text.

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Phone camera photos

Snap a photo of a document, menu, sign, or whiteboard. No scanner needed.

Any device

Works from iPhone, Android, tablet, or desktop. Upload from camera roll or files.

100+ languages

English, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Urdu, and more. Auto-detected.

Translation built in

Extract text then translate to any language with one click.

Fast results

Text usually appears within seconds. Copy to clipboard or download.

All formats

JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP — up to 20MB. Free for images.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of pictures work?

Any picture containing text — documents, signs, menus, book pages, whiteboards, receipts, labels, and more. Phone camera photos and scans both work.

How do I get a good result from a phone photo?

Use even light, hold the camera square to the page and keep the text in focus. Crop out the background if you can.

Is it free?

Yes. Image OCR is free without registration, within the daily image limit shown on the Image to Text page. PDF processing requires a free account.