· How-to
How to Read Phone Numbers and Emails From an Image
Pull phone numbers and email addresses out of a photo, flyer or screenshot with free in-browser OCR, then copy them without retyping a single digit.
Blurry Image to Text
Get text out of soft, grainy or low contrast photos. The image is cleaned up before reading, and a confidence score tells you how far to trust the result.
- Contrast boost
- Black and white mode
- Confidence score
- No upload
Add the blurry image
Supports JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, WebP, TIFF, HEIC, HEIF, HEICS
Auto detects the writing system and reads it. For better results, pick the language (up to 3 if the text mixes languages).
Drop a blurry photo, screenshot or scan here
or
Max file size: 10MB
More OCR Tools
Convert different image formats to text with our specialized OCR tools
By task
- Screenshot to Text Paste a screenshot, copy its text
- Photo to Text Read text from phone camera photos
- Text Scanner Scan paper to text, no app needed
- Business Card to Text Copy names, numbers and emails from cards
- Receipt to Text Read receipts and invoices as text
- Small Text OCR Read tiny print and fine text
- Book to Text Turn book pages into editable text
- Whiteboard to Text Turn whiteboard photos into notes
- Extract Code from Image Copy code from screenshots and photos
By file type
- Multi Image OCR
- PNG to Text Extract text from PNG files
- JPG to Text Extract text from JPG files
- JPEG to Text Extract text from JPEG files
- GIF to Text Extract text from GIF files
- Handwriting to Text Extract handwritten text
- BMP to Text Extract text from BMP files
- TIFF to Text Extract text from TIFF files
- WebP to Text Extract text from WebP files
- HEIF to Text Extract text from HEIF/HEIC files
- HEIC to Text Converter
- HEVC to Text Converter
- HEICS to Text Converter
- Image to Text Convert any image format to text
- PDF to Text Extract text from PDF documents
- Document OCR Advanced document text extraction
Key takeaways
- Can OCR read a blurry image?
- Often, if you can still make out the letters yourself. Mild blur, low light and low contrast can usually be read after cleanup.
- What can it not do?
- It cannot invent detail that is not in the photo. If the letters are smeared into shapes you cannot read, a sharper photo is the only real fix.
- How do I know if the result is reliable?
- Every result shows a confidence score. Below 60%, you also get tips for a better retake.
How to get text from a blurry image
Add the image, try the black and white option if the text is faint, and check the confidence score.
Last updated:
-
1
1. Add the image
Drop or choose the blurry photo, screenshot or scan (up to 10 MB). Crop it to the text first if you can.
-
2
2. Clean up and read
Click Extract Text. The image is converted to grayscale, its contrast is stretched and small text is enlarged. For faint text, tick Black and white and try again.
-
3
3. Check and copy
Look at the confidence score, fix any wrong words, then copy the text or download it as a .txt file.
What helps with blurry images
These steps run before the text is read. None of them can sharpen detail that is not there, but they make the most of what is.
-
Contrast stretching
Faded, grey or washed-out text is spread across the full range from black to white, so letters stand out from the background.
-
Lighting correction
Uneven light and shadows across a photographed page are balanced before reading.
-
Small text enlarged
When lines of text are small, the image is upscaled before reading, which helps soft, low resolution pictures.
-
Black and white option
Turns the image into pure black and white. It often rescues faint print, and sometimes hurts photos with detail: try both.
-
Language hint
Auto mode also tries your browser’s language, which helps when blur makes the writing system hard to detect.
-
Confidence score
You see how sure the OCR is, so you know when to trust the text and when to retake the photo.
Why use this for blurry images?
What you get
- Text from photos you cannot retake: old pictures, screenshots of screenshots, forwarded images
- An honest confidence score instead of silently wrong text
- Private processing for documents you would rather not upload
- Free and unlimited
Before you try OCR
- If you can retake the photo, do it: tap to focus and hold still
- Crop to the text; less background means less noise
- Pick the text language instead of Auto for very blurry images
Common blurry images
-
Phone photos in low light
Indoor pictures of documents taken without enough light.
-
Motion blur
Photos taken quickly, on the move or with a shaking hand.
-
Compressed images
Pictures forwarded through messaging apps that have lost quality.
-
Old scans and faxes
Grainy, low resolution scans and photocopies of photocopies.
-
Zoomed screenshots
Screenshots enlarged until the letters became soft.
-
Distant signs
Text on signs and boards photographed from far away.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Our image to text converter is designed to streamline the process of extracting text from images. However, we understand you might have a few questions. To make the most of this tool, we've compiled some frequently asked questions along with helpful explanations to guide you.
How do I extract text from a blurry image?
Open this page, add the image and click Extract Text. If the result is poor, tick Black and white and try again, and crop the image to the text.
Can it unblur my image?
No. It improves contrast, lighting and size before reading, but it does not sharpen or reconstruct blurred letters. If you cannot read the text yourself, OCR usually cannot either.
Why is the text from my blurry photo wrong?
Blurred letters look alike (rn and m, 0 and O, 1 and l), so OCR confuses them. Check the confidence score, correct obvious mistakes, and retake the photo if you can.
Does the black and white option always help?
No. It helps most with faint or grey text on plain paper. With photos that have gradients or colored backgrounds it can remove detail, so compare both results.
What about very small blurry text?
Small text suffers most from blur. See Small Text OCR for tips on getting tiny print readable.
Is my image uploaded?
No. The cleanup and OCR run in your browser. The image is not sent to a server.
How do I take a sharper photo next time?
Use more light, tap the screen to focus on the text, hold the phone steady for a second, and fill the frame with the page. See Photo to Text for more tips.