How do I copy text from an image?

Simply upload your image or paste a screenshot, click the upload button, and our OCR tool will automatically extract all text. Then click the 'Copy' button to copy the extracted text to your clipboard. The entire process takes just seconds.

How do I extract text from a picture on my phone?

On mobile, tap the upload area to open your camera or photo gallery, select the image with text, and the tool will extract the text instantly. You can then tap 'Copy' to copy the text or share it with other apps. Works on iPhone, Android, and all mobile browsers.

Can I convert a screenshot to text?

Yes! Screenshots work perfectly. On desktop, take a screenshot (Command+Shift+4 on Mac, Windows+Shift+S on Windows), then paste it directly into the upload area or click to browse. On mobile, take a screenshot and upload it from your photo library. The OCR engine extracts text from screenshots with high accuracy.

Is this image to text converter really free?

Yes, 100% free with no limits, no signup required, and no watermarks. Unlike many OCR services that limit you to 5-10 conversions or require registration, CleanUpTxt processes unlimited images completely free. All processing happens in your browser, so there are no server costs to pass on to you.

What image formats work? (JPG, PNG, etc.)

The converter supports JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, and most common image formats. For best results, use JPG or PNG. We don't support HEIC (iPhone default), TIFF, or BMP—convert those to JPG first. Maximum file size is 10MB, which covers virtually all screenshots and photos.

How accurate is the OCR text extraction?

Accuracy depends on image quality. Clear, high-resolution images with printed text achieve 95%+ accuracy. Photos of books, screenshots, and scanned documents work excellently. Handwritten text has lower accuracy (60-80%) due to OCR limitations. Blurry images, unusual fonts, or text at angles may require the 'Enhance low-quality images' option for better results.

Is my image uploaded to a server? Is this private?

No uploads—your images never leave your device. All OCR processing happens locally in your browser using Tesseract.js. Your photos, screenshots, and documents remain 100% private. We can't see your images because they're processed entirely on your computer or phone.

Can this extract text from PDFs?

Not directly yet—PDFs require a different extraction method. However, you can take a screenshot of a PDF page and extract text from that screenshot. For multi-page PDFs, screenshot each page individually. We're working on native PDF support for a future update.

What if the extracted text has errors?

Try the 'Enhance low-quality images' option in Advanced Settings to improve accuracy. This applies grayscale conversion, contrast boost, and noise reduction. For photos at an angle, straighten the image first using your phone's built-in photo editor. Higher resolution images (at least 1200px wide) also improve accuracy significantly.

Can I extract text in languages other than English?

Currently, the tool is optimized for English text extraction. Other Latin-alphabet languages (Spanish, French, German, Italian) work reasonably well. Non-Latin scripts (Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Cyrillic) are not supported yet. We're planning multi-language support for future versions.

Free Image to Text Converter

Name: CleanUpTxt
Author: CleanUpTxt

Copy text from photos, screenshots, and scanned documents instantly. 100% private — your images never leave your device.

Processed locally in your browser

OCR Settings

Upload Image to Extract Text

Upload a screenshot, photo, or scanned document. OCR extracts text instantly.

Supports JPG, PNG, WebP • Max 10MB • Works best with clear, printed text

🔒

Privacy First

All OCR processing happens entirely in your browser. Your images are never uploaded to any server and are processed locally on your device.

How to Extract Text from an Image

Our free image to text converter uses advanced OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to extract text from any image in seconds. Simply upload a photo, screenshot, or scanned document, and get editable text you can copy, download, or edit. Perfect for converting physical documents to digital text, extracting quotes from screenshots, or copying text from images when you can't select it.

Upload or paste your image: Click the upload area to browse for files, drag and drop an image, or paste a screenshot directly from your clipboard (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V).
Click "Extract Text": The OCR engine analyzes your image and detects all text, including paragraphs, headings, and captions. Processing typically takes 2-5 seconds depending on image size and complexity.
Copy or download your text: Click "Copy to Clipboard" to paste the text anywhere, or download as a .txt file for safekeeping. Edit the text directly in the output box if needed before copying.

Need to count words in an image instead? Try our Word Counter for Images tool for instant word count, character count, and reading time analysis from photos and screenshots.

What Images Work Best for Text Extraction?

OCR accuracy depends heavily on image quality, text clarity, and format. Here's what works best and what to avoid for optimal text extraction:

Works Excellently

✓Screenshots of websites, apps, or documents (high clarity, perfect for OCR)
✓Scanned documents at 300 DPI or higher (ideal for business documents, contracts)
✓Photos of printed text - books, magazines, signs, posters (straight-on angle works best)
✓High-resolution images (1200px+ width recommended for small text)
✓Black text on white/light backgrounds (maximum contrast = best accuracy)

⚠️Limited Accuracy

⚠Handwritten notes (60-80% accuracy - OCR struggles with cursive and varied handwriting)
⚠Blurry or low-resolution photos (enable "Enhance low-quality images" in settings)
⚠Text at angles or curved (straighten image first for better results)
⚠Unusual fonts or artistic text (decorative fonts reduce OCR accuracy)
⚠Text with complex backgrounds (patterns, gradients, or busy images behind text)

Pro tip: For best results with low-quality images, enable the "Enhance low-quality images" toggle in Advanced OCR Settings. This applies grayscale conversion, Otsu binarization, sharpening, and noise reduction to improve text detection significantly.

Why Use Our Image to Text Converter?

🔒 100% Private & Secure

All OCR processing happens locally in your browser—your images never get uploaded to any server. Unlike cloud OCR services that send your documents to remote servers for processing (and potentially store them), our tool keeps everything on your device. Perfect for sensitive documents like contracts, medical records, personal IDs, or confidential business materials. We literally can't see your images because they never leave your computer.

⚡ Free with No Limits

No signup, no credit card, no monthly limits, and no watermarks on extracted text. Most OCR services cap you at 5-10 free conversions per day or month, then force you to pay $10-30/month for unlimited access. CleanUpTxt processes unlimited images completely free because all processing happens in your browser—there are no server costs. Convert hundreds of images per day if needed, zero restrictions.

🚀 Instant Results

Get your text in 2-5 seconds—no waiting in processing queues like cloud services. Upload your image and the OCR engine immediately starts extracting text. No account verification emails, no "please wait 30 seconds for processing," no ads delaying results. The tool works offline after first load, so you can extract text even without internet connection once the page is cached.

Common Use Cases for Image to Text Conversion

📸 Screenshots & Social Media

Extract text from Twitter/X screenshots when you can't copy the original tweet, pull quotes from Instagram stories or LinkedIn posts for articles, or copy code snippets from programming tutorial screenshots. Social media images often contain valuable text that isn't selectable—our OCR makes it copyable in seconds. Perfect for journalists quoting social media, students capturing lecture slides, or developers extracting code from tutorial images.

📚 Books & Research Papers

Digitize physical books by photographing pages and extracting text for notes or searchable archives. Extract citations from scanned academic papers or journal articles when you need to quote research. Convert textbook pages to editable text for study guides or flashcards. Researchers use this to create searchable databases from old printed materials, while students extract key passages without manually retyping hundreds of words.

📄 Scanned Documents & PDFs

Convert scanned contracts, invoices, receipts, or forms into editable text for record-keeping or data entry. Extract information from scanned IDs, passports, or business cards for contact databases. Turn image-based PDFs (which don't allow text selection) into searchable, copyable text. Accountants use this for expense tracking from receipt photos, while HR departments digitize paper applications for applicant tracking systems.

🌍 Foreign Language Translation

Extract text from photos of foreign signs, menus, or documents to paste into Google Translate or other translation tools. Travelers photograph restaurant menus in foreign languages, extract the text, then translate it to understand what they're ordering. Works for street signs, museum placards, product packaging, or instruction manuals in languages you don't speak. Extract first, translate second—much faster than manual transcription.