Basics
How to read pictures aloud
A screenshot you cannot copy, a photo of a letter, a sign in another language. Your phone can read any picture to you, word by word. Here is how to do it in under a minute.
Quick answer
Install ReadLens, tap Snap a page or pick any image from your photos, and press play. The app reads every word in the picture aloud and highlights each one as it is spoken.
What “reading a picture” means
A picture of text is just pixels to your phone. To read it aloud, an app first finds the letters with optical character recognition (OCR), then speaks them with text-to-speech. ReadLens does both in one tap, and keeps the words on screen so you can follow along. If you want the technical version, see picture to speech: how it works.
Read a picture aloud in three steps
- 01 Open ReadLens and choose the picture. Tap Snap a page to take a new photo, or pick an image you already have: a screenshot, a photo a friend sent, a scanned page.
- 02 Let it find the words. ReadLens recognizes the text in the picture automatically, including printed pages, signs, slides and clear handwriting. Crop if you only want part of the image.
- 03 Listen. Press play and a natural AI voice reads the picture aloud. Each word lights up as it is spoken, and you can tap any word to jump there.
Pictures people read aloud most
- Photos of book pages, when your eyes are tired or you would rather listen
- Screenshots, of articles, chats or posts that you cannot copy
- Pictures of letters and forms, for anyone with low vision
- Signs, labels and menus, abroad, translated into your language
- Kids' picture books, so a child can hear the story and follow the words
Will it read a picture with no text?
No. ReadLens reads the words in a picture, it does not describe scenes or faces. For a photo of a landscape or a person, use your phone’s built-in screen reader image descriptions (VoiceOver on iPhone, TalkBack on Android) instead.
Frequently asked questions
Can my phone read a picture to me?
Yes. Open ReadLens, snap the picture or pick it from your photo library, and the app reads every word in it aloud in a natural voice while highlighting each word. It works on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro and Android.
What does it mean to read a picture?
Reading a picture means pulling the written text out of an image with OCR and turning it into speech. It works on photos of books, documents, signs, menus, screenshots and clear handwriting.
Is there a free app that reads pictures out loud?
ReadLens is free to download with weekly free snaps and no account required. An optional Premium subscription unlocks unlimited snaps and translation and removes ads.
Can it read a picture in another language?
Yes. ReadLens can read the text in its original language or translate it first, across 11 languages, so you hear a foreign sign or menu in your own language.
Try it yourself
Try it on the nearest piece of paper
ReadLens is free to download, with weekly free snaps and no account required.
