How to Copy Text from Image on iPhone? (2 Easy Ways)

Smartphones are commonly used these days to capture important texts and documents to secure them.

However, there are cases where you need the text from that image only for digital use. In that case, you must know how to copy text from image on iPhone.

There is this text recognition feature available in the latest versions of iOS but that does not work for everyone. It sometimes fails to recognize text written by hand.

In that case, you need to use the UPDF app for iOS and the UPDF AI online tool for higher reliability and better experience.

Part 1. Copy Text from the Image on iPhone via UPDF’s OCR

For the first section, we will use the iOS version of the UPDF application and its OCR feature. This feature helps us extract text from image easily.

And if you only have a paper presented physically, you can use UPDF’s scan feature to help you extract text from image.

Below are detailed guides on how you can use UPDF for iOS to extract text from images. Before that, make sure to download UPDF via the below button to go to App Store.

Way 1. When You Have Images

For the first method, we will show the steps for when you have taken or downloaded images of text on your iPhone. These images will be in your Photos app and UPDF can access them to create PDFs from images, then, allow you to copy text from them.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to copy text from images using UPDF OCR:

Step 1: Open the UPDF iOS app on your iPhone by tapping its icon and tapping the "+" button. Since you have the image of text in your Photos, you will click the "Photos” option under the “Import From” section.

Now, tap on the photo and tap “Add" from the top right. Now the photo will be shown in the UPDF interface. Tap the "Options" button under the image and tap "Convert to PDF” to create a PDF of that image.

Step 2: Now, UPDF will open the PDF converted from your image, and you can tap and hold it to see the popup. Keep tapping the "Right” arrow unless you see the “OCR” button. Now, tap “OCR” to perform OCR on that image and make the text editable and searchable.

Step 3: Once the document opens again in UPDF after OCR Processing, you can “Hold Text” and select the content you need. From the popup menu, click the “Copy” button and that text will be copied to your iPhone’s clipboard. Now, you can paste it anywhere you want.

Way 2. When You Have Paper

The next method is where you want to directly copy text from a physical document without taking its images first. This method also uses the UPDF OCR feature but first, it uses the scan feature to create a PDF directly from physical documents using the iPhone camera.

The rest of the process for copying text remains the same and below is a step-by-step guide that you may follow:

Step 1: Open the iOS app of UPDF on your iPhone with the app icon on your home screen or App Drawer. When you are in the UPDF app, tap the "+" button and select the "Scan” option under the “Create New" section since you do not have the image of text, but you have a paper instead.

Now, scan the paper with the "Capture” button and open its preview. Tap the “Save" button from the top right to save the scan as a PDF in the UPDF app.

Step 2: Now, tap on the PDF you just created by scanning in the UPDF app to open it. Once it opens, tap and hold until you see the "Popup menu”. In the popup menu, you must keep pressing "Right” until you see OCR. Once it appears, you must tap the “OCR” button and perform OCR on the scanned PDF.

Step 3: Finally, when the OCR processing is complete, your searchable scanned document will open. Now, you can “Tap and Hold” to select text and adjust the selection as per your needs. Tap the “Copy” button in the popup menu to copy the selected text and now you can paste it anywhere on your iPhone.

Part 2. Copy Text from the Image on iPhone with UPDF AI Online

Let's say that you want an instant solution, and you cannot download the UPDF iOS application on your iPhone. In that case, the UPDF AI online assistant will be at your service. This assistant works on every browser and device with the only requirement of an internet connection.

It not only takes text input but also takes images as input. Moreover, it provides instant results with user-friendly options like copy and regenerate button. Below are detailed steps for using UPDF AI Online on your iPhone to copy text from images. 

Step 1: Open any browser on your iPhone and go to the updf.com website. Tap the "Login” button and log in with your UPDF account. Now, tap “Options" on the top right and select "AI Assistant Online”. Or you can click the below button to enter the UPDF AI Online directly.

 This will open UPDF AI in a new tab on the browser on your iPhone. Tap the “Image” button and select “Photo Library”. Now, you can choose the image of text from your photos and upload it in UPDF AI online.

Step 2: Type your prompt like “Extract text from image” and hit the “Send" button from the bottom left. Now, UPDF AI will use its AI capabilities and advanced algorithms to recognize text from the image and provide you with the text from that image.

To copy this text, tap the "Copy” button under the image and the text of that image will be copied on your iPhone’s clipboard.

Part 3. Why Use UPDF to Extract Text from Image on iPhone?

Whenever you want to copy text from images on an iPhone, you must come across the idea of using a built-in iOS feature. However, the sad part is that that feature does not work every time. It is unreliable if the text is not very clear or handwritten.

Moreover, the feature does not exist on your device if it is not updated to the latest iOS versions.

All these downsides of the built-in feature make users search for other alternatives and UPDF is the best choice in this case. UPDF not only helps you with copying text from images, but it also offers a complete PDF experience on iPhones and iPads along with computers.

UPDF has a lot of features for working on PDF documents and its user interface makes everything much better.

You can learn more about all the features of UPDF by watching the video below. Its powerful features make it a strong competitor to Adobe Acrobat which was the industry leader for decades. Read this expert review on Guiding Tech now to see how well UPDF compares to Adobe Acrobat.

The best part about UPDF AI Online and UPDF iOS app is that you can access them for free and try the free features as well. However, if you want the best experience then you must get UPDF Pro. Purchasing UPDF Pro will unlock all premium features and give you more control over your documents so buy now.

Final Words

If you ever come across a situation where you need to copy text from image on iPhone, then you must remember that UPDF is the only app you need.

 So, if you also have images from where you need to copy text, head to UDPF AI online or download the UPDF iOS application on your iPhone for free.