How to Read Text from a Photo
By Tools Star Hub Editorial Team · Published
To read English text from one photo, choose a JPG, PNG, or WebP and press Read text. The photo stays in this browser tab. The first time, this browser downloads the recognition engine and the English language file from this site, about 6.6 MB. Later runs on this browser reuse that download. The result depends on the photo. A readable sign can still come back with wrong letters, and a busy background can add lines that are not text.
A photo of a sign is not the same as selecting the letters. The page can return most of a line and still miss a word, or add a line that came from bark, leaves, or a shadow. Check the text against the photo before you copy it. Reading a photo is slower than resizing or compressing an image.
How to read text from a photo
- Choose one JPG, PNG, or WebP. One image at a time, up to 25 MB. Other file types are not the files this page reads. The image is not uploaded. Tools Star Hub does not send the image to a server or save it in local storage.
- Press Read text. The first time, this browser downloads the recognition engine and the English language file from this site, about 6.6 MB. Those files are not loaded from another host. Later runs on this browser reuse that download.
- Wait while a large photo is reduced. A long side over 1,600 pixels is reduced before reading. A smaller photo is read at its own size. English is the only language file included.
- Compare the text with the photo, then copy it if it looks right. Do not treat a misread word as the original. Blur, glare, and small type make wrong letters more likely.
Example
A posted sign on a tree
A real outdoor photo of a printed sign, with bark and leaves around it. The hunting and trespassing lines came back. PRIVATE PROPERTY came back missing letters, and VIOLATORS came back as VIOLKTORS. The largest word, POSTED, did not come back as a clean word, and the bark added extra lines.
Things to watch
What this page will and will not read
English only. One image at a time. JPG, PNG, and WebP only, up to 25 MB. The first run downloads about 6.6 MB. Later runs on this browser reuse that download. Reading a photo is slower than the canvas image tools. The result depends on the photo. A readable sign can still come back with wrong letters, and a busy background can add lines that are not text. Blur, glare, and small type make that worse. A long side over 1,600 pixels is reduced before reading.
FAQ
- Which files can I choose?
- One JPG, PNG, or WebP, up to 25 MB. English is the only language file included.
- Why was a large photo reduced?
- A long side over 1,600 pixels is reduced before reading. A photo that is already smaller than that is read at its own size.
- What should I do when a word is wrong?
- Compare the text with the photo and fix the word yourself. On a real outdoor photo of a printed sign, PRIVATE PROPERTY came back missing letters and VIOLATORS came back as VIOLKTORS. A busy background can add lines that are not text.
- Where do the recognition files come from?
- From this site. The first run downloads the recognition engine and the English language file, about 6.6 MB. Later runs on this browser reuse that download. The photo itself is not uploaded.
To read English text from one photo in the browser, use Image to Text. The photo stays in this tab. The recognition files are loaded from this site.