How to Extract Text From an Image (OCR)
There's a special frustration in seeing text right in front of you — on a photo of a sign, a screenshot, a scanned receipt — that you can't select or copy. OCR (optical character recognition) ends that: it reads the text in an image and hands it back to you as real, editable characters.
What OCR is good for
- Pulling text out of a scanned document or contract.
- Copying a quote or address from a photo or screenshot.
- Digitizing receipts and printed notes.
- Making a scanned PDF searchable.
What makes OCR accurate
OCR works best with clear, high-contrast images: sharp focus, even lighting, text that's roughly horizontal, and a clean background. Blurry photos, glare, skewed angles, and fancy handwriting all lower accuracy. If results come back rough, retaking the photo straight-on with good light usually helps more than anything else.
Privacy with OCR
The text in your images is often personal — IDs, receipts, correspondence. OCR that runs entirely in your browser reads the image on your own device and never uploads it, which is the safe way to digitize anything with private information on it.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of images work best for OCR?+
Clear, high-contrast, well-lit images with roughly horizontal text and a clean background. Blur, glare, and skew lower accuracy.
Can OCR read handwriting?+
It's built mainly for printed text. Neat handwriting may work partially, but printed or typed text gives far better results.
Is my image uploaded for OCR?+
Not with an in-browser tool. The recognition runs locally so your images and their text stay private.