How to Enable and Use Live Text on iPhone 14

Live Text is a handy iOS feature that lets you copy, translate, or interact with text directly from photos, screenshots, and even your camera view. Whether you’re trying to copy a phone number from a sign or translate foreign text, Live Text makes it effortless. Here’s how to set it up and start using it on your iPhone 14.

Turn On Live Text for Your Camera

To make sure Live Text works when using your iPhone 14 camera:

Open the Settings app.
Scroll down and tap Camera.
Toggle on Show Detected Text.

This enables the Live Text button to appear whenever your camera detects text in the frame.

Enable Live Text for Other Languages

If you want to use Live Text with languages other than English:

Go to Settings > General.
Tap Language & Region.
Make sure Live Text is turned on.
Add the supported language you want to use under Preferred Languages.

Live Text supports multiple languages, and iOS continues expanding the list with new updates.

How to Copy Text from a Photo

You can extract text from any image in your gallery:

Open the Photos app and select a photo with text.
Touch and hold on any word until a selection tool appears.
Drag the grab points to highlight more text if needed.
Tap Copy or Select All to grab the full text.
Paste it into Notes, Messages, Safari—anywhere you’d like.

Use the Live Text Button for Instant Text Detection

For quicker access:

Open any photo in the Photos app.
Tap the Live Text button (looks like three lines in a box) in the bottom-right corner.
The iPhone will highlight all detectable text.
Tap and hold on any word to select and take action—like Copy, Look Up, or Translate.

Grab Text Using the Camera App

To pull text live using your camera:

Open the Camera app and point it at the text.
When text is detected, a Live Text icon will appear in the corner.
Tap the icon to freeze the frame and highlight text.
From there, you can Copy, Translate, Search, or even Call if it’s a phone number.

Where You Can Use Live Text

Live Text works across several native iOS apps, including:

Camera – Live detection while pointing at text
Photos – Copy and interact with text from saved images
Safari – Extract and translate text from images on websites

You can use Live Text to:

Copy and paste text into notes or messages
Translate foreign language text
Look up definitions or web results
Call numbers or send emails directly from signs or business cards
Add text from images into Reminders or Calendar