Extract text from any image - privately
Need the text out of a screenshot, a photo of a document, a receipt or a slide? This tool reads it for you and gives you clean, editable text you can copy or download. Unlike most "image to text" sites, your picture is never uploaded - the optical character recognition (OCR) runs entirely inside your browser, so even confidential scans and ID documents stay on your machine.
How in-browser OCR works
OpenConvert uses Tesseract, a mature open-source OCR engine compiled to WebAssembly. The first time you pick a language, a small recognition model downloads to your browser and is cached for next time - the same way the Background Remover loads its model. After that, your images are processed locally with no round-trip to a server.
Tips for the best accuracy
- Use a sharp, high-contrast image - dark text on a light background reads best.
- Straighten it first - heavily skewed or rotated text lowers accuracy.
- Pick the right language before extracting, especially for accented or non-Latin scripts.
- Crop out clutter so the engine focuses on the text you actually want.
FAQ
Are my images uploaded to a server?
- No - the OCR runs locally in your browser using WebAssembly. Your image never leaves your device; only the language model is downloaded to your browser.
Which languages can it read?
- More than 15, including English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic. Choose the language before extracting for best accuracy.
Why is the first scan slow?
- The first time you use a language, its recognition model (a few megabytes) is downloaded to your browser and cached. After that, scans are much faster.
How accurate is the OCR?
- It is very accurate on clear, high-contrast printed text. Handwriting, low resolution, glare and skewed angles reduce accuracy - use a sharp, well-lit, straight image for best results.