> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://snagitpro.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Copy Text From a Screenshot on iPhone - URL: https://snagitpro.com/copy-text-from-screenshot-iphone/ - Published: 2026-10-17T13:38:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-19T09:50:57.000Z - Description: Open the screenshot in Photos, touch and hold a word, adjust the grab points and tap Copy. Live Text can also select all, call, email and translate on iPhone XS or later. - Author: Adrian Foster - Tags: Guides, Tutorials, Captures Open the screenshot in the Photos app, touch and hold a word, drag the grab points to cover the text you want, and tap **Copy**. To take everything, tap **Select All** and then Copy. Apple's page on [copying and translating text from photos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/120004?ref=snagitpro.com) calls this Live Text, and says it needs an iPhone XS, iPhone XR or later with iOS 15 or later. If you don't see it, turn on Live Text in Settings, General, Language & Region. [Download](https://dropload.surf/c/DluzdtzerFlT?ref=snagitpro.com) I went through Apple's current pages on Live Text and on taking a screenshot on iPhone in October 2026, and compared them with the guides that rank for this question. Several of those guides still describe an older screenshot thumbnail that Apple's own page says changed in iOS 26, so the steps below start from Photos, which doesn't depend on which iOS version you have. ## Copy text from a screenshot in Photos 1. Open the saved screenshot in **Photos**. In the current layout documented on Apple’s [screenshot page](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102616?ref=snagitpro.com), look under Collections > Media Types > Screenshots. Older Photos layouts can place the collection elsewhere; the task is to open the image, not reproduce that navigation on every supported iOS version. 2. Open the screenshot and **touch and hold a word**. Move the grab points to adjust the selection. 3. Tap **Copy**. To select all of the text, tap **Select All** first. 4. Switch to the app where the text should go, touch and hold the text field and tap **Paste**. Apple adds that after you copy, you can paste the text into another app or share it with someone. In the same steps, touching and holding a word is also the starting point for **Look Up**: select one word and a dictionary appears, select more than one and Siri Suggested Websites and other resources for the topic appear. ## What you can do with the text | What you want | What to tap | What Apple says | | --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Copy a few words | Touch and hold a word, move the grab points, tap Copy | Works in photos, videos and images found online | | Copy all the text | Tap Select All, then Copy | Selects all of the text in the photo | | See all the text at once | Tap the Live Text button in the lower-right corner | Highlights all text in the photo or image | | Call or email from the text | Live Text button, then tap the phone number or email | Options such as FaceTime or Add to Contacts may appear | | Translate the text | Live Text button, then Translate | You may need to tap Continue and choose a language | ![Two-column chart, What you want on the left and What to tap on the right: Copy a few words to Touch and hold, then Copy; Copy all the text to Select All, then Copy; See all text at once to The Live Text button; Call or email from text to Live Text button, then tap; Translate the text to Live Text button, then Translate](https://storage.ghost.io/c/32/ae/32ae67dc-03a1-4a24-abcb-b731d79fd904/content/images/2026/10/copy-text-iphone-map.webp) Start from the Live Text button to see what the iPhone recognizes, or touch and hold a word to select. ## Right after you take the screenshot Apple's [screenshot instructions](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102616?ref=snagitpro.com) describe the full-screen editing view introduced in iOS 26 and the corner thumbnail on iOS 18 and earlier. The current [screen capture settings guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iph2d2500abc/ios?ref=snagitpro.com) also documents Settings > General > Screen Capture > Full-Screen Previews: turn it off for a temporary thumbnail. For text extraction, saving the image and opening it in Photos remains the route documented here; a preview setting does not determine whether Live Text recognizes the words. ## Other places Live Text works Apple's page says Live Text also works on text in videos and images you find online, and in the Camera app, or in Camera inside apps like Notes and Reminders: point the camera at a photo or image with text and tap the Live Text button. For video, you need iOS 16 or later, and Apple says to pause the video first. That makes it useful for a frame from a recorded clip, though for a screen recording you have to pause on the right frame. ## If the text won't select - **Check the phone and iOS.** Apple's requirement is an iPhone XS, iPhone XR or later with iOS 15 or later, and iOS 16 or later for video. - **Check the Live Text setting.** Apple says to open Settings, tap General, tap Language & Region, then turn on Live Text to enable all supported languages. Its page also links to the list of regions and languages that support Live Text. - **Zoom in on the text.** [Textora](https://textora.app/blog/screenshot-to-text-tricks/?ref=snagitpro.com), a vendor that sells an OCR app, says text laid over busy images such as memes can confuse detection, and that pinching to zoom before touching the text sometimes triggers it. That's a vendor tip, not an Apple instruction. - **Try again on a clean capture.** I'd expect small, low-contrast or stylized text to fail more often than plain body text. That's my judgment, not something Apple states. ## Before you share the screenshot Copying text out of a screenshot often means the screenshot contains an account number, address or message you'd rather not pass on. If you share the image itself, my guide to [redacting personal information in a screenshot](https://snagitpro.com/redact-personal-information-screenshot/) covers what to cover and how. If you're on a Windows computer instead, my [Windows 11 guide to copying text from a screenshot](https://snagitpro.com/copy-text-from-screenshot-windows-11/) covers Snipping Tool and PowerToys. ## The short version Open the screenshot in Photos, touch and hold a word, adjust the grab points, tap Copy, or tap Select All first for everything. Use the Live Text button to see what's recognized and to call, email or translate. Needs an iPhone XS or XR or later. On iOS 26 and later, save the screenshot and open it in Photos rather than relying on the thumbnail.