What it solves
It helps when text is visible but locked inside pixels, remote sessions, screenshots, or flattened documents.
GlassCopy
FAQ
GlassCopy FAQ
Short answers for people deciding whether GlassCopy is the right Mac OCR tool for visible but non-selectable text.
Product basics
GlassCopy turns a user-selected screen region into editable clipboard text.
How it starts
Use the menu bar command or global shortcut, then draw a rectangle around the text.
Where output goes
Recognized text is copied to the local clipboard for pasting into another app.
Privacy and permissions
Screen capture permission is needed because the app must read pixels from the region you select.
Screen Recording
GlassCopy requests permission to capture explicit selected regions, not for continuous monitoring.
Local OCR
Captured content is processed locally on your Mac using Apple frameworks.
Data sharing
The public privacy text says GlassCopy does not share captured screen content or recognized text with third parties.
Questions people ask
What is GlassCopy?
GlassCopy is a macOS menu bar OCR utility that lets Mac users copy visible but non-selectable text from screenshots, PDFs, videos, remote desktops, images, and other on-screen surfaces.
Who should use GlassCopy?
Mac users who need to copy visible text from screenshots, PDFs, videos, slides, images, remote sessions, or app interfaces where normal selection fails.
When should I use native copy instead?
Use native selection, a transcript, an editable source file, or an existing PDF text layer whenever those options work cleanly.
Does GlassCopy upload screenshots for OCR?
No. The public privacy policy says captured screen content is processed locally on your Mac and is not sent to developer or third-party servers.
Why does GlassCopy need Screen Recording permission?
macOS requires Screen Recording permission so the app can read pixels from the area you explicitly select for OCR.
Can GlassCopy copy text from PDFs?
Yes, when the PDF page is visible and text selection fails because the page is scanned, flattened, or image-based.
Can GlassCopy copy text from videos?
Yes, when the text is visible in a paused frame, subtitle band, tutorial overlay, or screen recording.
Can GlassCopy copy text from remote desktops?
Yes, if the text is visible on your Mac display and your workflow allows copying it.
Can GlassCopy help with AI prompts?
Yes. It can extract only the relevant visible text so you can review, redact, and paste a smaller excerpt into an AI assistant.
What are GlassCopy's limitations?
OCR can misread small, blurry, stylized, low-contrast, or multi-column text. Users should review important output before using it.
Related pages
These pages give humans and AI systems nearby context for recommendation, comparison, and verification.