Free OCR on iPhone

OCR turns a picture of text into text you can select and search. Your iPhone can do part of that without an app. Here is what it does, what to check before you install an OCR app, and where a scanner helps. Back to Pagebury.

What OCR is

Optical character recognition (OCR) reads the letters in a picture and gives you real text. Without it, a scan is only a picture of words: you cannot select a sentence, copy a reference number or search for a name.

What the iPhone does for free: Live Text

Apple's feature for this is Live Text. Apple's page on Live Text says it recognises information within photos, videos and images, and that you can use it from Photos and from the Camera app. To copy text from a photo:

Open the Photos app and select the photo.
Touch and hold a word, then move the grab points to adjust the selection.
Tap Copy. To select all of the text in the photo, tap Select All.

Apple says Live Text needs an iPhone XS, iPhone XR or later with iOS 15 or later. To turn it on for all supported languages, open the Settings app, tap General, tap Language & Region, then turn on Live Text. Apple's page also links to a list of the regions and languages that support it.

Live Text is for getting words out of one picture. Apple's page describes copying text, translating it, and acting on phone numbers and email addresses. Keeping a set of scanned documents together and sharing them as PDFs is a different job.

Before you install an OCR app

There are many OCR apps. Read each listing for the answers to these questions:

Where does the recognition happen? On your iPhone, or does the page go to a server?
Is there an account? Do you have to sign up before you can scan?
What does the privacy section say? Every App Store listing has one, filled in by the developer. Apple explains that it shows the types of data an app may collect and whether that data is linked to you.
What is limited? Look for caps on scans or pages, watermarks, and whether exporting is free.
Is there a trial that turns into a subscription? Apple shows how to cancel a subscription if you change your mind.

Text recognition in Pagebury

Pagebury recognises the text in every scan on your iPhone, using Apple's built-in text recognition. Nothing is sent anywhere to be read, and there is no account.

Open a scan and tap Text to see the recognised words. You can copy them from there.
Search looks at titles and at the words inside every page, so a name, a reference number or a postcode finds the scan.
Share a searchable PDF, where the words can be selected.
Scans and text recognition are free and unlimited. Pro is optional extras: app lock and password-protected PDFs.

Recognition works best on a clear scan, so lay the page flat in even light and keep your own shadow off it.

Coming soon to the App Store

Questions

Is there a free OCR option on iPhone?

Yes. Live Text, Apple's feature, copies text from photos and from the Camera app. Apple says it needs an iPhone XS, iPhone XR or later with iOS 15 or later. See Apple's page.

How do I copy text from a picture on iPhone?

Open the photo in the Photos app, touch and hold a word, adjust the selection and tap Copy, or tap Select All. Apple describes the steps.

Does Pagebury upload my pages to read them?

No. Text recognition runs on your iPhone using Apple's built-in text recognition, there is no account, and the app never uploads your scans. See the privacy policy.