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How to Use Live Text on Your iPhone

Turn on Live Text in Settings, then select text from your iPhone camera view, photos, or supported videos to copy, translate, search, or share it.
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To use Live Text, turn it on in Settings > General > Language & Region. In Camera, point your iPhone at text, tap the Detect Text button when the yellow frame appears, then touch and hold the words to select them. You can also select text in supported photos and paused videos.

Check that your iPhone supports Live Text

Apple lists iPhone XS, iPhone XR, or later with iOS 15 or later as the minimum for Live Text. Live Text in video requires iOS 16 or later. Availability also varies by language and region.

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For Apple’s compatibility details, see Copy and translate text from photos on your iPhone or iPad and Apple’s Live Text guide for photos and video.

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Turn on Live Text

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap General, then Language & Region.
  3. Turn on Live Text.

The setting is documented in Apple’s instructions for copying and translating text from photos.

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Use Live Text with the Camera

  1. Open Camera and point your iPhone at the text you want to capture.
  2. Wait for the yellow frame to appear, then tap the Detect Text button.
  3. Touch and hold a word. Drag the selection handles to include the text you need.
  4. Choose an action such as Copy, Select All, Look Up, Translate, Search Web, or Share, depending on what appears.

If the detected text is a phone number, web address, or email address, a relevant quick action may appear. The available choices depend on the content. To return to the regular Camera view, tap the selected Detect Text control. Apple documents the camera workflow in Use Live Text with your iPhone camera.

Turn off text detection in Camera

To disable detection in Camera without changing Live Text’s general setting, go to Settings > Camera and turn off Show Detected Text.

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Select text in a photo or video

  1. Open the photo, or pause the video on a frame that contains text.
  2. Tap the Detect Text button.
  3. Touch and hold the words, then adjust the selection handles if needed.
  4. Choose an available action, such as Copy Text, Select All, Look Up, Translate, Search the web, or Share.

Apple says Live Text can work in Photos, Safari, Camera, Quick Look, and other supported contexts. See its guide to interacting with text in a photo or video.

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If Live Text does not appear

  • Check that your iPhone is an iPhone XS, iPhone XR, or later and is running iOS 15 or later. For text in video, check that it is running iOS 16 or later.
  • Confirm Settings > General > Language & Region > Live Text is on.
  • Remember that Live Text is not available for every language or region. Apple’s documentation notes this limitation but does not establish a recognition-accuracy rate across different fonts, lighting, or image quality.

Apple’s compatibility and availability information is in its Live Text support article and photo and video guide.

Quick Recap

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