Does my file get uploaded for OCR?

No. The recognition runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — your PDF never leaves your device. The OCR engine and language data are downloaded once from a public source (they're software, not your file) and then cached.

What does OCR do to my PDF?

It reads the text in the page images and adds it back as an invisible layer positioned over the words. The page still looks the same, but now you can search, select, and copy the text in any PDF reader.

Which languages are supported?

English works best right now. Other scripts, especially non-Latin ones like Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic, aren't supported yet.

OCR is heavy computation and it runs locally on your device rather than on a server farm. A long or high-resolution document can take a while — the trade-off for keeping your file private.

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Make a scanned PDF searchable (OCR)

Run OCR on a scanned PDF so you can search, select, and copy its text. HivePDF adds an invisible text layer over the pages — all in your browser, with your file never uploaded.

Drop a PDF here or click to select

Files never leave your device.How it works

How to OCR a PDF

Drop your scanned PDF above (or click to select).
Click Make searchable — each page is recognized in turn (the OCR engine downloads once on first use).
Download the searchable PDF.

Frequently asked questions

Does my file get uploaded for OCR?: No. The recognition runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — your PDF never leaves your device. The OCR engine and language data are downloaded once from a public source (they're software, not your file) and then cached.
What does OCR do to my PDF?: It reads the text in the page images and adds it back as an invisible layer positioned over the words. The page still looks the same, but now you can search, select, and copy the text in any PDF reader.
Which languages are supported?: English works best right now. Other scripts, especially non-Latin ones like Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic, aren't supported yet.
Why is it slow?: OCR is heavy computation and it runs locally on your device rather than on a server farm. A long or high-resolution document can take a while — the trade-off for keeping your file private.

Turn a picture of text into text

A scanned PDF is really just images — you can see the words but you can't search, select, or copy them. OCR (optical character recognition) reads those images and adds the text back as an invisible layer sitting exactly over each word. The page looks identical, but now it's searchable in any reader. HivePDF does this right in your browser, so even a sensitive scan never leaves your device.

Private, if slower

Most OCR tools upload your document to a server to do the heavy lifting. HivePDF runs the recognition locally with WebAssembly instead. The OCR engine and its English language data download once from a public source — that's software, not your file — and are cached for next time. The trade-off is speed: a long or high-resolution scan takes a while, because your own device is doing the work.

Good to know

English text works best today; other scripts aren't supported yet. The result is a raster page plus a text layer, so it stays a faithful copy of your scan. To shrink the searchable PDF afterwards, use Compress; to pull the page images out instead, use PDF to JPG.