Pulling text out of an image has never been easier.
The hugely popular instant messaging platform WhatsApp has started to roll out a feature that makes it easier for people to extract text from an image that they received.
The new WhatsApp feature is only available to iPhone users thanks to a new iOS 16 API that the app’s latest update now employs.
While WhatsApp’s latest App Store release notes don’t make a big deal about the feature’s arrival, we’re told that it’s there. The WhatsApp beta watchers at WABetaInfo say that while those release notes don’t mention a thing about image text extraction, some people who have updated to WhatsApp version 23.5.75 have already reported seeing the feature go live.
The report also suggests that the new feature is still being rolled out to people. adding that it “can also confirm that more people that will install this version of WhatsApp can finally extract text right out of images.”
Testing whether the feature has been enabled on your specific account is easy – just open an image that contains text and you should finally see a new button that lets you copy that text out.
You will of course need to have iOS 16 or later installed otherwise you won’t be able to use this feature at all, so keep that in mind if you’re using an older iPhone or haven’t updated for some reason.
This specific image extraction feature has already been tested by those who are on the TestFlight beta for WhatsApp and it appears that the instant messaging outfit is now testing it with a pool of people who are running the App Store version of the app as well.
If you aren’t yet seeing the ability to copy text out of an image, don’t worry. That doesn’t mean anything is wrong – just make sure you’re all updated and then wait for your account to be given the green light.
