How to Grab and Copy Text From an Image on Android Devices

Do you ever wish you could grab and copy text from an image on Android devices? Or maybe you want to submit a textbook material to a friend without having to type the whole material out? You can extract and copy text from images like newspapers, books, magazines, items, etc. by taking a picture of the content, thanks to some apps on the Google Play Store. The extracted text can then be exchanged on other apps, converted to XML, and translated to XML. So, in this guide, you’ll learn the easiest way to grab and copy text from an image on Android devices.

How to Grab and Copy Text From Image on Android

Luckily, there are some OCR Text Scanning apps on Google Play Store that can easily grab and copy text from an image on Android devices like Text Scanner, Text Fairy, Office Lens, TurboScan, and many more. But for the purpose of this guide, I will use Google Keep to extract text from an image.

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Google Keep

Google Keep is Google’s official application designed to compete with other lifetime reminders, such as Evernote or Catch Notes. As such, this is an instrument that allows you to leave virtual notes on your Phone. The program allows you to take notes by typing them as usual and by recording a voice message, which is particularly useful when you’re in a rush.

Furthermore, You can attach all sorts of pictures or lists to your files, and they’ll be synchronized between your phone and your computer or laptop, as with all Google applications.

Meanwhile, Google Keep is not only a great note-taking app but it also has built-in support for OCR to grab or extract text from an image on Android devices. Here’s how to grab text from an image using Google Keep:

Step 1. Go to Google Play Store and install Google Keep.

Step 2. Launch Google Keep and tap the (+) at the bottom right-hand corner of your screen to add a new note.

Google Keep

Step 3. Once again, tap the (+) at the bottom left-hand side and then select Take photo to scan a document from the camera or select Add image to import an image from your Gallery.

Step 4. Tap on the picture to view in full screen and then tap the three icon dots and select Grab image text.

Step 5. The text should be grabbed from the image in a few seconds.

Grab & Copy Text From an Image

Step 6. To copy the text, simply select all and copy or share it.

However, if you’re not satisfied with the Google Keep result then you may use another wonderful app called “Text Fairy” OCR Text Scanning app. Meanwhile, the Text Fairy app does not require an internet connection to grab text from an image. Here’s how to copy text from an image on Android:

• Install Text Fairy app from Play Store.
• Tap the Camera icon to convert text from a new image. Tap the image icon to convert text from an existing image.
• Crop the image to select the section the page you want to extract texts from and tap the arrow icon.
• Tap Start, Text Fairy app will start to read the texts on the cropped section of the capture/selected image.
• The app will display a “That went well” message on the screen when it completes. You may then proceed to select to share, copy, or convert the extracted text to PDF.
• Tap Copy to copy a portion (or all) of the extracted text.

Text Fairy

Best OCR Apps for Extracting Text From Images on Android

Well, I have already mentioned Google Keep and Text Fairy app to grab and copy text from an image. Here are some other best OCR apps for extracting text from images on Android.

1. Text Scanner [OCR]

Text Scanner [OCR] is the best OCR app after Google Keep. This app claims support for more than 50 languages including Chinese, Japanese, French, and more. It also supports the extraction of text from a text written by hand. The software interface features important scanning features such as magnification and a brightness slider to capture text in the clearest possible manner.

2. Office Lens

Office Lens is Microsoft’s expectation of supplying Android devices with a portable scanning app. The capability to scan and digitize documents is its headline feature, but it also comes with a handy option for OCR. It is included as a premium option but by signing up for a free Microsoft account, you can get it for free. Signing up also unlocks other features such as 5 GB free OneDrive storage and saving in various formats.

3. OCR Text Scanner

With a simplified interface, OCR Text Scanner supports over 55 languages including English, French, Italian, Swedish, and more. In our research, though lacking a word or two in different areas, it seemed to work mostly fine on papers. It can not capture text images from hand-written notes. It’s loaded with advertisements, too, so you’ll have to wait for each scan for about 5 seconds.

Wrapping Up

That’s it. This is how you can grab and copy text from an image on Android devices. Well, Both Google Keep and Text Fairy app are the best when it comes to extracting or grabbing text from an image on Android. Meanwhile, the Text Fairy app does not require any internet connection.