Short answer: both iPhone and Android have a free, built-in way to pull text out of a photo â no app required. On iPhone it's Live Text; on Android it's Google Lens (built into Google Photos). A dedicated scanner app is worth it only if you want a saved history, batch pages or PDF export along with the text.
On iPhone: Live Text
- Open any photo in the Photos app, or point the Camera app at text.
- Look for the text-selection icon (a square with lines) in the corner of the image.
- Tap it, then drag to select the text you want â or tap "Select All."
- Tap Copy, then paste it anywhere.
Live Text has worked offline since it launched in iOS 15, and it recognizes multiple languages automatically. See Apple's own Live Text guide for the full feature set, including looking up a phone number or translating recognized text.
On Android: Google Lens
- Open the photo in Google Photos.
- Tap the Lens icon (a camera-shutter-like icon) below the image.
- Google Photos highlights recognizable text; tap and drag to select it.
- Tap Copy text, then paste it anywhere.
You can also open the standalone Google Lens app or tile and point it live at printed text for the same result. See Google's Lens in Google Photos help page for details.
When a Dedicated App Is Worth It
The native tools are the fastest option for grabbing a line or a paragraph. A dedicated scanner app is a better fit when you need:
- A saved history of every scan, organized into folders
- Multi-page documents, scanned in a batch and exported as one PDF
- Password-protected PDF export for sensitive documents
- Recognition across many languages in one consistent workflow
Our Document Scanner & PDF app covers that case: it scans a document with automatic edge detection, then runs on-device text recognition across its supported languages, with scans organized into folders and a searchable history. If you only need to pull text from a single existing photo rather than scan a fresh document, Resize Image & Convert offers the same on-device text extraction alongside its resizing and format-conversion tools.
Which Should You Use?
| Need | Best option |
|---|---|
| Copy one line or paragraph from a photo you already have | Live Text (iPhone) or Google Lens (Android) |
| Scan a fresh paper document and extract its text | Document Scanner & PDF |
| Extract text from an image you're already resizing or converting | Resize Image & Convert |
| Multi-page document with saved history and PDF export | A dedicated scanner app rather than the native tool |
Sources
- Apple Support, "Use Live Text to interact with content in a photo or video on iPhone" â https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/live-text-iph0f9c1b0f8/ios
- Google Photos Help, "Search for text in your photos with Lens" â https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6128850
