iOS 15 Live Text: Open Web Addresses from Photos

Apple's iOS 15 introduced Live Text, an on-device intelligence feature that automatically recognizes and extracts text from images. This guide explains how Live Text detects web URLs within your photos and the camera viewfinder, allowing you to launch websites, copy links, and interact with web addresses directly without manual typing.

How Live Text Detects URLs

Live Text uses machine learning and optical character recognition (OCR) running locally on the Neural Engine. When an image contains text structured like a standard web link—such as prefixes like http:// or www., or common domain extensions like .com, .org, or .net—iOS 15 highlights the text as an active hyperlink.

To interact with a website address found in an existing image:

  1. Open the Photos app and select an image containing a web address.
  2. Tap the Live Text icon (a small square with text lines) in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap the highlighted web address once to open the site directly in Safari.

Alternatively, you can touch and hold (long-press) the link to open a contextual action menu. This menu provides additional options, including:

  • Open Link: Launches the webpage in your default browser.
  • Add to Reading List: Saves the link for offline reading.
  • Copy Link: Copies the full URL to your clipboard for pasting into other apps.
  • Share: Sends the link via Messages, Mail, AirDrop, or third-party apps.

You do not need to save a photo to access a URL. Live Text works dynamically inside the native Camera app:

  1. Open the Camera app and point the lens at a printed or displayed web address.
  2. A yellow focus bracket will frame the detected text, and the Live Text icon will appear in the bottom-right corner.
  3. Tap the Live Text icon to freeze the frame.
  4. Tap the highlighted URL or the yellow Safari button that appears at the bottom of the screen to open the website instantly.

Device Requirements

Live Text requires an iPhone or iPad powered by an A12 Bionic chip or newer running iOS 15 or later. This includes iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and later models. The feature works across system apps, including Photos, Camera, Safari, and Quick Look.