A sign, receipt or whiteboard photo can contain text you need to reuse. Apple’s Live Text can select recognized words in a photo, video or supported image so you can copy them instead of typing everything by hand.
Copy words from a saved photo
Open a photo in Photos and touch and hold a word. Drag the selection handles to adjust the text, then tap Copy. To select all recognized text, use Select All when it appears, then paste into Notes, Messages or another app. For a video, pause on the frame containing the words before selecting them.
Use the camera for text in front of you
In the Camera app, point the phone at the text and tap the Live Text button when it appears. You can also use the camera inside supported apps such as Notes or Reminders. If Live Text is unavailable, Apple says you can check Settings > General > Language & Region and turn on Live Text for supported languages.
Apple lists iPhone XS, iPhone XR and later with iOS 15 or later for Live Text; recognizing text in video requires iOS 16 or later. Language support and accuracy can vary, especially with handwriting, glare, small print or a tilted image.
Review before you reuse
Optical text recognition can misread characters that look alike, such as 0 and O, or 1 and l. Check addresses, serial numbers, dates and account details against the original before pasting or submitting them. Avoid pointing the camera at private documents unless you are comfortable with the app you are using.
Live Text is a time-saver for everyday copying, but one careful proofread can prevent a wrong digit from turning a quick capture into a bigger problem.
Featured image credit: Bill/ MpegMan on Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 (license).
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