Best OCR Apps for Android and iPhone, Free and Offline
Live Text on iPhone and Google Lens on Android copy text from a photo for free. For whole pages, Text Fairy works offline. Microsoft Lens has been retired.
OCR, short for optical character recognition, turns a picture of words into text you can copy, search or edit. For a line or a paragraph your phone already does it, and you do not need an app. A dedicated app earns its place when you have whole pages to turn into a searchable PDF or a Word file, when you have no connection, or when the writing is by hand.
We read Apple’s, Google’s, Samsung’s and Microsoft’s own help pages, then the Google Play and App Store listing of each app. Where a listing was silent on languages or on where the recognition happens, we went to the maker’s website. Of the five apps this article named in 2019, three are still worth listing.
What your phone already does
iPhone: Live Text
Live Text is part of iOS. Apple’s support page says it recognises text in your photos, in videos and in images you find online. In the Camera app you point at the words and tap the Live Text button. From there you can copy the text, translate it, call a number or look up directions. It also works when you use the camera inside Notes or Reminders.
You need an iPhone XS, XR or later with iOS 15 or later, and the switch is under Settings, General, Language & Region. Apple’s feature list gives about two dozen languages for Live Text, among them English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Thai and Vietnamese. Hindi and Arabic are not on it.
Android: Google Lens
Google’s steps are short. Open the Google app, tap the Lens icon in the search bar, then take a photo or pick a screenshot. Tap the text and choose Select text. The menu offers Copy, Listen, Translate and Search, and if you selected a phone number or an address it offers to call it or open it in Maps.
In Google Photos, open a picture, tap More, then Google Lens, and select the words you want. Lens is also a free app of its own on Google Play, with no ads label and nothing to buy. Its listing says some features need an internet connection. On an iPhone, Google’s help page puts Lens inside the Google app.
Samsung Galaxy: the T button in Gallery
Samsung’s support site describes a text button in its own Gallery app. Open a photo that has writing in it and tap the yellow T at the bottom right. The text is highlighted and you can copy all or part of it. Samsung says this is on most recent Galaxy phones, and names the Galaxy S24, S25 and S26, the Z Fold and Z Flip, and the A series.
Google Drive: scan to a searchable PDF
The Google Drive app on Android has a scanner behind its Camera button. Google’s help page says it saves documents such as receipts and letters as searchable PDFs in your Drive.
Drive can also turn a photo or a PDF into an editable document, but only on a computer. At drive.google.com you right-click the file and choose Open with Google Docs. Google’s help page asks for a file of 2 MB or less with text at least 10 pixels high. Its list of supported languages runs past 200 and includes Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Urdu, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and Swahili.
Before you scan anything private
The pages people scan are often the private ones, such as an ID card or a bank statement. Some apps recognise the text on the phone, and others send the page to a server to do it. The table says what each listing or maker states. Check where an app sends your pages before you give it anything sensitive.
OCR apps compared
| App | Phones | On the stores | Where recognition happens | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text Fairy | Android | Free with ads, in-app purchases | On the phone. The listing says it works offline | More than 110, printed text only |
| MakeACopy | Android | Free, no ads, no purchases | On the phone. The listing says fully offline | Not given in the listing |
| Genius Scan | Android, iPhone | Free scanner; text recognition is in the paid plans | On the phone, says the listing | Over 100, says the maker |
| vFlat Scan | Android, iPhone | Free with a monthly limit, no ads, in-app purchases | On vFlat’s servers, says the maker | Over 100, says the maker |
| Adobe Scan | Android, iPhone | Free, in-app purchases | Not stated. Scans are saved to Adobe’s cloud | About 20 in Adobe’s user guide |
| CamScanner | Android, iPhone; not listed in India | Free with ads, in-app purchases | Not stated in the listing | 41, says the maker |
| Text Scanner [OCR] | Android | Free with ads, in-app purchases | Not stated in the listing | More than 50; the listing says it reads handwriting |
| Pen to Print | Android, iPhone | Free to download, in-app purchases | On the maker’s servers, says its FAQ | Handwriting in Latin-script languages |
OCR apps that work offline
Text Fairy is the offline pick on Android. Its listing says it works offline to protect your privacy and recognises printed text in more than 110 languages. It straightens the lines, corrects the angle of the shot, detects columns, reads the result aloud and exports it as a PDF. Two things to know. The listing says plainly that it cannot read handwriting, and Google Play now shows a “Contains ads” label on it.
MakeACopy is a small open-source scanner whose listing promises no ads, no tracking and no cloud. Edge detection, text recognition and export to a searchable PDF or plain text all happen on the phone. The listing does not say which languages it reads, so try it on your own language before you rely on it.
Genius Scan is the offline option that also runs on iPhone. The scanner itself is free with no limit on scans, and both its listings say documents are processed on the device. The catch is that text recognition and searchable PDFs belong to the paid plans, as the maker’s help pages and price list both say. Its App Store page is under The Grizzly Labs.
Document scanners with OCR
vFlat Scan is built for books. Its listing describes flattening curved pages, hiding the fingers holding the book open and splitting a two-page spread into two scans. There are no ads and no sign-in. The maker’s website is clear about the rest: text recognition covers over 100 languages, the image is sent to vFlat’s servers over an encrypted connection and deleted within 24 hours, and the free plan includes 10 pages of text recognition a month. It is also on the App Store.
Adobe Scan makes scans searchable and editable, and the listing says it can export to Word, Excel or PowerPoint. Scans are saved automatically to Adobe’s cloud storage, which means an Adobe account. The listing says a subscription raises the OCR limit from 5 pages to 100. Adobe’s user guide names about 20 languages for text recognition, including Japanese and Russian, and mentions language packs you download inside the app. The iPhone version is on the App Store.
CamScanner scans to PDF, JPG, Word or TXT, and its OCR lets you search your scans by the words inside them. Its website gives 41 languages. The free version carries ads and the listing sells a subscription. One thing matters for readers in India: CamScanner is not listed on Google Play or the App Store there. Elsewhere it is on the App Store too.
Apps for handwriting
Not every OCR app accepts handwriting. Text Fairy rules it out in its own listing.
Pen to Print is made for it. The listing describes photographing a handwritten page, including cursive and messy writing, then editing the result and exporting it to Word or plain text. The maker’s FAQ says it handles Latin-script languages such as English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese. The same FAQ says files are sent to its servers for conversion and deleted as soon as that is done. Subscriptions unlock unlimited exports. It is on the App Store as well.
Text Scanner [OCR] from Peace lists more than 50 languages and says it supports handwriting. The result can be copied, emailed or saved to Google Drive. It is free with ads. The listing still mentions sharing to Google+ and Google Hangouts, so do not expect the description to be current.
Adobe Scan’s listing says its Edit in text tool works on handwritten words too.
Which one to pick
- A few lines from a photo, a sign or a screenshot: Live Text on iPhone, Google Lens on Android. Nothing to install.
- Whole printed pages on Android, with no connection: Text Fairy. Choose MakeACopy if you want no ads at all.
- Offline on iPhone: Genius Scan, accepting that its text recognition is paid.
- Books and bound notes: vFlat Scan, knowing the pages go to its servers and the free plan stops at 10 pages a month.
- You want the scan as a Word file and already have an Adobe account: Adobe Scan.
- Handwritten notes in English or another Latin-script language: Pen to Print.
- Hindi, Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa: Google Drive’s conversion on a computer lists all four.
If you only want to read small print and not copy it, a magnifier does that with less fuss. See our guide to magnifying glass apps.
What happened to the old list
Office Lens, later renamed Microsoft Lens, is gone. Microsoft’s support page says the app was retired in early 2026 and removed from Google Play and the App Store, and that copies already installed can no longer create new scans. Microsoft points people to the scanner inside its OneDrive app, with the warning that OneDrive does not save scans to the phone itself.
Google Keep is still on both stores, but Google’s help pages for Keep no longer describe pulling the text out of a picture, so we have left it out. Google Lens does that job.
Text Fairy, CamScanner and Adobe Scan are still listed and are covered above.
Quick answers
How do I copy text from an image on my phone?
On an iPhone, open the photo or point the Camera at the text and tap the Live Text button. On Android, open the Google app, tap Lens, pick the image and choose Select text. On a Samsung Galaxy, tap the yellow T on a photo in Gallery.
Is there an OCR app that works offline?
Yes. Text Fairy and MakeACopy say they work offline on Android, and Genius Scan says it processes documents on the device on both Android and iPhone, though its text recognition is a paid feature.
What is the best free OCR app for Android?
For copying a few lines, Google Lens. For whole printed pages, Text Fairy, which is free with ads and reads more than 110 languages offline.
Which OCR app reads handwriting?
Pen to Print is built for handwriting in Latin-script languages. Text Scanner [OCR] and Adobe Scan also say they handle it. Text Fairy says it cannot.
What happened to Microsoft Lens?
Microsoft retired it and removed it from both app stores. Its support page recommends the scanner in the OneDrive app.
