Extract text from images with our free online OCR tool. Quickly convert photos, screenshots, and scanned documents into editable text that you can copy, edit, or save. This tool is powered by Tesseract.js, an open-source OCR engine. No Signup Required.
Important Note: This tool works best with clearly scanned documents containing plain text. The OCR quality may be limited for handwritten text, complex layouts, or low-quality images. For optimal results, use high-contrast, well-lit images with standard fonts.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology has a fascinating history dating back to the early 20th century. The first OCR systems were developed in the 1910s to help blind people read, using photosensors to recognize characters and convert them to telegraph code. By the 1950s, early commercial OCR machines were reading credit card imprints and simple text. Today's OCR is used in surprising ways beyond document digitization—from helping archaeologists decipher ancient manuscripts to enabling autonomous vehicles to read road signs. Interestingly, postal services worldwide process over 98% of mail using OCR, with the USPS alone scanning over 493 million mail pieces daily. The human brain performs OCR-like functions naturally, recognizing text in about 50 milliseconds—far faster than even the most advanced AI systems.
Modern OCR engines like Tesseract employ a multi-stage process far more complex than simple pattern matching. First, the image undergoes preprocessing—including deskewing, noise reduction, and binarization—to optimize text recognition. Next, connected component analysis identifies character boundaries before feature extraction algorithms analyze shapes using techniques like contour analysis and skeleton extraction. For recognition, Tesseract uses a two-pass approach: an initial character classification followed by adaptive recognition that improves accuracy by learning from context. The latest versions implement Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks that process text as sequential data, dramatically improving recognition of connected scripts and unusual fonts. Post-processing applies linguistic rules and dictionary lookups to correct recognition errors, with some systems achieving over 99% accuracy on high-quality documents but dropping below 70% on challenging handwritten text.
Our Image Text Extractor uses Tesseract OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to analyze images and extract text content. Simply upload your image, and our tool will process it to identify and convert any text it contains into editable format. Tesseract is an open-source OCR engine that runs entirely in your browser.
Our tool supports common image formats including JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, and WEBP. For best results, we recommend using clear, high-resolution images with good contrast between text and background.
Yes, you can upload image files up to 10MB in size. For larger files, we recommend compressing them first or cropping to include only the text you need to extract.
This is a basic OCR tool with limited accuracy. It works best with clearly scanned documents containing standard fonts and simple layouts. The tool may struggle with handwritten text, stylized fonts, complex layouts, images with poor lighting, or low resolution. For best results, use high-contrast, well-lit images with clear text.
Yes, we take data security seriously. This tool processes your files entirely in your browser - your images are never uploaded to our servers. This means your sensitive photos never leave your device, ensuring complete privacy and security.
Our tool currently supports English text extraction. We're working on adding support for additional languages in future updates.
Extracting text from images is useful for many purposes: digitizing printed documents, extracting text from screenshots, making scanned documents searchable, copying text from images that don't allow selection, or transcribing text from photos for editing or sharing.
No, we don't store any of your files. Since the conversion happens entirely in your browser, your images never reach our servers. Once you close the browser tab or navigate away, all processed data is automatically cleared from your browser's memory.