PDF OCR

About this tool

PDF OCR is the feature that turns a scanned, image-only PDF into searchable, copyable text. It matters because a scan is just a picture — you cannot search, select, or edit the words until they are recognized. We list it openly as “coming later” rather than shipping a half-built version, because real OCR needs a sizeable recognition engine that must load on the user’s device and can be slow on first use. We would rather be honest than present a button that quietly fails. In the meantime, if your PDF was created digitally (not scanned), use PDF to Text to pull the words out today. When we add OCR, it will run entirely in your browser like everything else here, so even recognized text never leaves your machine. No upload, no account — and when it arrives, the same privacy promise applies.

OCR is the missing piece for anyone drowning in scanned paper. A clerk needs to search a scanned contract for a clause. A researcher wants to copy a sentence from a photographed article. A student must quote a page from a scanned book. An archivist makes a century-old document searchable. A homeowner looks for a number inside a scanned utility bill. All of these are blocked today because the words are trapped in an image. We are building the in-browser engine to handle it privately, so the scanned content — often highly personal — never uploads. Until then, digital PDFs already work with PDF to Text. We would rather set that expectation than ship a button that quietly does nothing, which would waste your time and undermine trust.

How it works & privacy

OCR is not enabled yet, and we say so plainly instead of faking it. For digital (non-scanned) PDFs, PDF to Text already extracts the text in your browser. When OCR lands, it will run locally with the same no-upload guarantee. We will not ask you to upload a scanned file to a server.

FAQ

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