Are my images or PDFs uploaded to a server?

No. TextLens is 100% client-side — your files are decoded and recognized entirely in your browser by WebAssembly. Your images, PDFs and the extracted text never leave your device.

Does it work offline?

Yes. English OCR works fully offline — the engine and English model are cached. Once installed as a PWA, TextLens opens and runs with no connection. Other languages download their model on first use.

What languages are supported?

English (default, offline), plus Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Korean. You can also use auto-detect to identify the script.

Can I OCR HEIC photos from my iPhone?

Yes. TextLens decodes HEIC/HEIF photos in-browser and feeds them straight to OCR — no conversion step and no upload.

100% in your browser · files never leave your device

Free image-to-text OCR that runs in your browser

Extract text from photos, screenshots and scanned PDFs with Tesseract — in 8 languages, right on your device. Your files never leave your device.

✓ No signup✓ No upload✓ 8 languages✓ HEIC & PDF✓ Works offline

Drop an image, or click to pick

PNG · JPG · WebP · BMP · GIF · HEIC (iPhone photos)

Drop · pick · or paste (⌘/Ctrl+V)

Language

Free runs English (offline). Multi-language recognition + presets are a Pro feature.

Extracted text

0 words · 0 characters

Also try PDF → Text (scanned PDF OCR) →

Image to text

PNG, JPG, WebP, BMP, GIF and HEIC — drop, pick or paste, and pull out the text instantly.

8 languages

English (offline), plus Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French and German — with auto-detect.

Scanned PDF OCR

Render each page with pdf.js and recognize it. Text PDFs get an instant native-extraction fast path.

Per-line confidence

See how sure the engine is, line by line, so you know what to double-check.

Works offline

Installable PWA. English OCR and the app shell are cached — recognize with no connection at all.

Truly private

No account, no upload, no tracking. Files are decoded and recognized on your device, full stop.

How to extract text from an image in 4 steps

Turn any photo, screenshot or scan into editable text in seconds — free and completely private. Your files never leave your device.

1
Drop, pick or paste an image (PNG, JPG, WebP, HEIC and more). Everything runs in your browser, so there is nothing to install or sign up for.
2
Choose the document's language — English by default, or Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German. Hit auto-detect if you're not sure.
3
TextLens recognizes the text with Tesseract right on your device. Watch the live progress; per-block confidence shows how sure it is.
4
Edit the extracted text inline, then copy it to the clipboard or download it as a .txt file. Your image and the text never leave your device.

Frequently asked questions

Are my images or PDFs uploaded to a server?: No. TextLens is 100% client-side — your files are decoded and recognized entirely in your browser by WebAssembly. Your images, PDFs and the extracted text never leave your device.
Does it work offline?: Yes. English OCR works fully offline — the engine and English model are cached. Once installed as a PWA, TextLens opens and runs with no connection. Other languages download their model on first use.
What languages are supported?: English (default, offline), plus Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Korean. You can also use auto-detect to identify the script.
Can I OCR HEIC photos from my iPhone?: Yes. TextLens decodes HEIC/HEIF photos in-browser and feeds them straight to OCR — no conversion step and no upload.