Image to Text (OCR) - Extract Text from Image

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What is OCR (Image to Text)?

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is a technology that looks at the letters in a picture and turns them into real text that you can select, copy, edit and search. A photo of a notice, a screenshot of a chat or a scanned page is just a picture to a computer. OCR reads the shapes of the letters and gives you the words.

This tool does the recognition in your browser. You choose the language, add the image and get editable text in a few seconds. Speed depends on your device and the size of the image.

How to Extract Text from an Image

1. Upload an image, drag it into the box, take a photo with your phone camera, or paste a screenshot with Ctrl+V.
2. Select the language of the text in the image. Select two languages if the image has mixed text, for example Hindi and English.
3. If the image is dark, tilted or blurry, use the enhance options or crop to the part that has text.
4. Click Extract Text and wait for the progress bar to finish.
5. Check and edit the result, then copy it or download it as a .txt file.

The first time you use a language, its language data has to download, so the first run can take longer. Later runs are faster.

Supported Languages

You can extract text in many languages. Always select the language that matches the text in your image, because a wrong choice is the most common reason for bad results.

Group	Languages
Indian languages	Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu, Odia, Assamese, Nepali, Sanskrit
Other languages	English, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese and more

Accuracy for Indian scripts is usually lower than for English, mainly when the text is small, blurry or in a decorative font. Check the result carefully.

Tips for Better OCR Accuracy

• Choose the right language: If the text has two languages, select both.
• Use a high-resolution image: Small or compressed images lose letter detail.
• Keep the photo straight: Hold the camera directly above the page and avoid angles. Use Rotate to fix a tilted image.
• Use good light: Avoid shadows and glare on the page.
• Crop to the text: Remove borders, pictures and background so the tool only sees the text.
• Turn on Invert for dark mode screenshots: Light text on a dark background works better after inverting.
• Use Scale up for small text: Enlarging the image can help the tool read tiny letters.
• Try Black and White for scans: It gives sharper letters on photocopies and old scans.

Enhance Options Explained

Option	What it does	Use it when
Auto enhance	Applies grayscale, contrast and scaling together	You are not sure what to pick
Grayscale	Removes color	The background is colorful
Increase contrast	Makes letters stand out	The image looks faded
Black and white	Turns the image into two colors	Scans and photocopies
Invert	Swaps light and dark	Light text on a dark background
Scale up	Enlarges the image	The text is very small
Rotate	Turns the image	The image is sideways or upside down

What Works Well and What Does Not

Works well	Gives weaker results
Printed documents and book pages	Handwriting
Screenshots of text	Blurry or out-of-focus photos
Clear photos of notices, signs and bills	Very small or low-resolution text
Typed forms and letters	Decorative fonts and stylised logos
Plain background with dark text	Text over busy pictures or patterns

Image Formats and Size

• Supported formats: JPG, PNG, WEBP, BMP and GIF.
• Maximum size: 10 MB per image.
• iPhone HEIC photos: Convert them to JPG first, because many browsers cannot open HEIC.
• Very large images: They are scaled down automatically so your browser does not run out of memory.

What You Can Do with the Extracted Text

• Copy text from a screenshot or photo that you cannot select.
• Turn a scanned notice, page or letter into editable text.
• Save details from a visiting card or a printed bill.
• Paste the text into a document, a note or a translator.
• Search or edit the content of an old printed page.

Common Problems and Fixes

• The text is empty: Check that the image really contains text, raise the contrast and try a larger image.
• The letters look wrong: Check the language setting. A wrong language gives strange characters.
• Words are joined or split: Use Scale up and crop to the text area.
• The text is in the wrong order: Crop each column or block separately and extract them one at a time.
• Extra line breaks after copying: Use the clean-up option to remove extra line breaks and spaces.
• It is slow the first time: The language data downloads on first use. Later runs are faster.

Privacy and Safety

• Your image is processed in your browser and is not uploaded to our server.
• We do not save your image or the extracted text.
• The text disappears when you clear it or close the page, so copy or download what you need.
• If you work on a shared or public computer, close the page when you finish.
• Be careful with documents that contain personal or financial details. Check the result before you share it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert an image to text?

Upload your image, drag it into the box or paste a screenshot with Ctrl+V. Choose the language of the text in the image, then click Extract Text. When the progress finishes, you can edit the text, copy it or download it as a .txt file.

Can this tool extract Hindi text from an image?

Yes. Select Hindi as the language before you extract. If the image has both Hindi and English, select both languages. Results are best with clear, printed text. Small, blurry or decorative Hindi text can give mistakes, especially in matras and joined letters, so check the output.

Is my image uploaded to a server?

No. The text is recognized in your browser, and your image is not sent to our server. Language data files are downloaded to your browser the first time you use a language. Still, avoid using any online tool for documents you must keep strictly confidential.

How accurate is the OCR?

Accuracy depends on the image. Clear, high-resolution, printed text in a common font gives the best results. Blurry, tilted, low-contrast or very small text gives more mistakes, and no OCR tool is 100% accurate. Always check important details such as amounts, dates and account numbers.

Can it read handwriting?

This tool is designed for printed text. Handwriting usually gives poor results, so it is not recommended for handwritten notes.

Why is the extracted text wrong or empty?

The most common reasons are a wrong language selection, a low-resolution or blurry image, low contrast, or a tilted photo. Choose the correct language, use the enhance options such as contrast, scale up or rotate, crop to the text area, and try again.

Which image formats and sizes are supported?

JPG, PNG, WEBP, BMP and GIF images are supported, up to 10 MB each. If your phone saves photos in HEIC format, convert the photo to JPG first. Very large images are scaled down automatically so they can be processed in the browser.

Can I extract text from a screenshot?

Yes. Take the screenshot, open this page and press Ctrl+V to paste it, or upload the file. For dark mode screenshots with light text on a dark background, turn on the Invert option for better results.

Does the tool keep tables and layout?

No. The tool returns the text as lines and paragraphs. Table structure, columns and exact layout are not kept, so you may need to arrange them again after copying.

Is this image to text tool free?

Yes. The tool is free and needs no signup. It runs in your browser using JavaScript.