Is this the same as Google Lens or Live Text?

Those tools copy lines of text. Translate Chat OCRs the screenshot, infers who said what from the chat layout, translates, and outputs a conversation image.

Does OCR work on dark mode screenshots?

Yes. Dark and light themes both work. Higher contrast and less compression usually read small type more reliably.

Can I OCR a PDF of a chat export?

No. Upload PNG, JPEG, WebP, or BMP screenshots of the message list — not PDF transcripts or .txt chat exports.

OCR chat screenshots to English

OCR chat screenshots to read bubble text from Messenger, WhatsApp, LINE, and similar apps, then turn that text into a translated English conversation image.

Generic OCR tools (document scanners, PDF readers, camera live text) are built for paragraphs on a page. Chat screenshots are different: short lines, rounded bubbles, timestamps, ticks, and two speakers stacked in one photo.

Translate Chat runs optical character recognition as part of reading the screenshot, together with vision that looks at bubble sides and order. The goal is not a raw dump of every pixel of UI chrome — it is a reconstructed thread you can actually read.

Glare, cracked glass, compressed JPEGs, and dark mode all reduce OCR accuracy. Native-resolution captures with both sides of the thread visible give the recognizer more pixels and clearer left-versus-right cues.

This page is for extract-text-from-a-chat-screenshot searches. If you already know the app, the Messenger, WhatsApp, LINE, Instagram, Telegram, and iMessage guides add layout-specific tips. Upload on the home page either way.

Tips for better results

Export or share the screenshot at the phone’s full resolution; OCR on chat bubbles fails first on tiny type.
Keep the full width of the thread so sent vs received bubbles stay obvious after OCR.
Skip document-style crops that cut the bubble outline — the outline is a layout signal, not noise.
When one conversation spans several captures, upload them in scroll order so OCR lines stitch into one thread.

Questions about this guide

Is this the same as Google Lens or Live Text?: Those tools copy lines of text. Translate Chat OCRs the screenshot, infers who said what from the chat layout, translates, and outputs a conversation image.
Does OCR work on dark mode screenshots?: Yes. Dark and light themes both work. Higher contrast and less compression usually read small type more reliably.
Can I OCR a PDF of a chat export?: No. Upload PNG, JPEG, WebP, or BMP screenshots of the message list — not PDF transcripts or .txt chat exports.

Start translating — upload screenshots