Find Text in Images and Screenshots on Mac

You remember the words, not the filename.

macOS has gotten better at reading text in images, but finding a specific phrase across hundreds of screenshots still feels slow. This guide shows the fastest built-in options first, then the simple way to search across all your images and screenshots and jump straight to the exact match with Fenn (private, on-device by default).

Quick answer

• If you are looking at the image right now, use Live Text to copy the text.

• If you want to search inside one image or one PDF, use Preview.

• If you need to search across lots of screenshots and images, use Fenn to find the exact match and open it instantly.

Why Mac search always misses text inside images

Traditional file search is great at filenames and metadata, but images and screenshots are different:

• The words you care about are inside pixels, not in the filename.

• Screenshots often have generic names like “Screenshot 2026-01-05…”.

• The same phrase may appear in many places, and opening files one by one is slow.

Spotlight can sometimes surface photos by content, but coverage and precision vary across file types and workflows. When the job is “find this exact phrase across my screenshots”, you need a tool that indexes the text inside the images consistently.

Method 1: Copy text from an image with Live Text

If you have the image open, this is the quickest option.

1. Open the image in Photos, Quick Look, or Preview.

2. If macOS detects text, you can select it like normal text.

3. Copy and paste what you need.

This is perfect for one-off extraction, like grabbing a code, an address, or a line from a screenshot.

Method 2: Search inside a single image or PDF in Preview

Preview is useful when you already know which file contains the information.

1. Open the image or PDF in Preview.

2. Try searching or selecting text if it is available.

3. If the file is a scan, results depend on whether the file has selectable text.

This works well when the document is already searchable, but it does not help when you do not know which screenshot contains the phrase.

Method 3: Search across screenshots and images with Fenn

If you are searching across many images, the workflow that saves time is indexing, then searching once.

Fenn is a private AI file search agent for macOS that runs on-device by default. It reads and indexes text inside images and screenshots so you can search the phrase you remember and open the exact match immediately.

Best for:

• locating a screenshot that contains a specific line or number

• finding a photographed note or whiteboard detail

• searching across a folder full of reference images

How to search text in images with Fenn

1. Add your screenshot and image folders as sources (for example: Desktop, Downloads, Screenshots, project folders).

2. Let indexing complete so image text becomes searchable.

3. Search for the exact phrase or a distinctive fragment.

4. Open the result and jump straight to the image where the text appears.

Practical examples

• Find the screenshot where someone shared the Wi-Fi password during a call.

• Locate a receipt photo that contains a specific total or vendor name.

• Find the screenshot of an email where you remember one sentence.

• Retrieve a slide screenshot where a chart label contains the number you need.

A simple rule of thumb

• Use built-in tools when you already have the image open.

• Use Fenn when you need to search across your library and you only remember the text.

Ready to stop opening screenshots one by one?