· 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.
Online Text Scanner
Scan text from paper, photos and scanned images and get it back as text you can edit. A scanner app in your browser: nothing to install, nothing uploaded.
- Works with any camera
- No app to install
- 19 OCR languages
- Copy or .txt
Scan or add an 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 scan or photo here, or use your phone camera
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
- Business Card to Text Copy names, numbers and emails from cards
- Receipt to Text Read receipts and invoices as text
- Blurry Image to Text Read text from blurry or low quality images
- 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
- What is a text scanner?
- A text scanner (or OCR scanner) captures a page as an image and recognizes the letters on it, so you get editable text instead of just a picture of the page.
- Do I need a scanner or an app?
- No. Your phone camera, a webcam or an existing scan is enough. The OCR runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install.
- Where does my scan go?
- Nowhere. The image is read on your device and is not uploaded to a server.
How to scan text from an image
Capture the page, let the scanner read it, then copy the text. Three steps on any device.
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1. Capture the page
On a phone, tap the button and take a picture of the page. On a computer, drop a scan or photo (up to 10 MB) or paste one with Ctrl+V.
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2. Scan for text
Click Extract Text. The image is straightened, cleaned up and read in the language you chose, or Auto detects the writing system.
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3. Use the text
Edit the result, then copy it or download it as a .txt file. Word and character counts are shown.
A scanner app, without the app
The parts of a scanning app that matter for reading text, running in your browser.
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Any camera or scanner
Use your phone camera, a webcam, a flatbed scan or a photo you already have. JPG, PNG, TIFF, HEIC and more.
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Cleans up the page
Pages are turned upright, straightened, and uneven light and the background around the sheet are evened out.
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19 languages
Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Thai and more. Combine up to 3 for mixed text.
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Black and white mode
Turn on black and white for faint or uneven scans; it often brings back pale print.
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Nothing uploaded
The OCR engine runs on your device. No account, no cloud storage, no copies left behind.
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Batch and PDF
Scan up to 20 pages at once with Multi Image OCR, or read scanned PDFs with PDF to Text.
Why use an online text scanner?
Advantages
- Nothing to download, update or grant permissions to
- Same tool on Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac and Linux
- Text comes out ready to edit, search and paste
- Free, with no page limit and no watermark
Scanning tips
- Lay the page flat on a dark, plain surface in good light
- Hold the camera straight above the page, not at an angle
- For a faint photocopy, try the black and white option
What people scan
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Letters and paperwork
Turn printed letters, notices and forms into text you can file, search or reply to.
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School and university
Scan handouts, worksheets and book pages into notes you can edit.
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Office work
Digitize printed reports and memos without retyping them.
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Labels and packaging
Scan product labels, instructions and serial numbers.
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Old documents
Get the text out of photocopies and archived pages before they fade further.
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Quick capture
Scan a page in seconds when you need just one paragraph from it.
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 scan text from an image?
Open this page, take a photo of the page or drop an existing scan, and click Extract Text. Then copy the text or download it as a .txt file.
Is this OCR scanner free?
Yes. The text scanner is free to use with no signup, no page limit and no watermark.
Can I scan with my phone camera?
Yes. On a phone, the image button lets you take a picture with the camera or choose one from your gallery. No app is needed.
Can I scan several pages at once?
Yes. Multi Image OCR reads up to 20 images in one run and lets you download all the text together.
Can it scan a PDF?
Use PDF to Text. It reads the PDF text layer directly and runs OCR on scanned pages without one, up to 20 pages per run.
Is my scan stored anywhere?
No. Scanning and recognition happen in your browser. The image is not uploaded, saved or shared.
How can I get a cleaner scan?
Good light and a straight angle matter most.
- Avoid shadows from your hand or phone.
- Keep the page flat and fill the frame with it.
- Turn on black and white for faint print.
The confidence score under the result tells you when a rescan will help.