Instagram makes it easy to watch a video and surprisingly hard to get any text out of it. If you’ve searched for how to copy text from an Instagram video, the first question is which text you mean, because there are three kinds and each needs a different method:

  1. The spoken words. What the person says in the video. You need a transcript.
  2. The caption. The description written under the post. You need to select and copy it.
  3. On-screen text. Words that are part of the video itself, such as titles, lists or burned-in subtitles. You need to read the text from the image.

This guide covers all three, with steps for iPhone, Android and desktop. If it’s the spoken words you’re after, the quickest route is an Instagram video to text converter. Paste the link and you’ll get the full transcript back.

The short version

  • Spoken words: copy the video’s link (paper plane icon → Copy link) and paste it into a transcription tool. You get the text back to copy or download.
  • Caption: on a computer, open the post on instagram.com and select the caption text. On a phone, try long-pressing the caption. If that doesn’t work, open the post’s link in your browser and copy it there.
  • On-screen text: pause the video, take a screenshot, then use Live Text (iPhone) or Google Lens (Android) to select and copy the words.

How to copy text from an Instagram video: the spoken words

This is the one people usually mean, and it’s the one Instagram gives you no way to copy. Some Reels show auto-generated captions while they play, but you can’t select them, and there’s no transcript or export option anywhere in the app.

To turn the speech into text you can copy:

  1. Copy the video link. In the app, tap the paper plane icon, then Copy link. On instagram.com, use the … menu and choose Copy link, or copy the URL from the address bar.
  2. Paste it into the Instagram video to text converter. It works with Reels, regular video posts and IGTV links. The audio is transcribed with AI, so the video doesn’t need captions.
  3. Copy or download the text. Copy it, or download it as TXT or PDF. You can also search the transcript, get an AI summary, translate it into 40 languages, or turn it into a blog post, thread or newsletter.

Your first transcript is free with no signup, and a free account gives you 3 a month. Only public videos work. Videos over 2 minutes need a free sign-in. For a closer look at Reels specifically, including what the output looks like, see how to get the transcript of an Instagram Reel.

How to copy an Instagram caption

The caption is ordinary text, but the Instagram app doesn’t always let you select it. How it behaves depends on your device and app version, so here are the options from easiest to most reliable.

Try long-pressing in the app. On some devices and app versions, pressing and holding the caption brings up a Copy option. On many others, nothing happens. It’s worth a two-second try.

Open the post in your phone’s browser. This works far more consistently:

  1. Tap the paper plane icon and choose Copy link.
  2. Open Safari or Chrome and paste the link into the address bar.
  3. If the caption is cut off, tap more to expand it.
  4. Press and hold on the first word, drag the handles to cover the whole caption, and tap Copy.

Instagram may ask you to log in or try to send you back to the app. If it does, log in through the browser or request the desktop site from the browser menu.

On a computer: open the post on instagram.com, expand the caption if needed, then click and drag to select it and copy with Ctrl+C (Windows) or Cmd+C (Mac).

Last resort: screenshot the caption and use the Live Text or Google Lens method below. It’s also handy when you only want one line.

How to copy on-screen text from an Instagram video

Text that’s burned into the video, such as a recipe’s ingredient list, a list of tips or a title card, is part of the picture. You can’t select it in Instagram, but your phone can read it from a screenshot.

First, freeze the right frame. In a Reel, press and hold on the video to pause it. In most versions of the app this also hides the buttons and caption. While it’s paused, take a screenshot with your phone’s usual button combination. If the timing is fiddly, take a couple of screenshots and keep the clearest one.

On iPhone: Live Text

Live Text is built into iPhone XS and newer models running iOS 15 or later.

  1. Open the screenshot in the Photos app.
  2. Tap the Live Text icon (a small square with lines in the corner), or just press and hold on a word.
  3. Drag to select the text you want and tap Copy. You can also tap Select All.

On Android: Google Lens

  1. Open the screenshot in Google Photos and tap Lens. You can also open the Google app and tap the Lens camera icon, then choose the screenshot.
  2. Tap Text to highlight the words Lens found.
  3. Select what you need and tap Copy text.

Many recent Android phones also have Circle to Search. Long-press the home button or navigation bar while the video is paused, circle the text, and copy it from the results.

On a computer

Take a screenshot of the paused video. On a Mac, open it in Preview and select the text directly with Live Text (macOS Monterey or later). On Windows 11, the Snipping Tool’s Text actions button can copy text from a screenshot.

One tip: if the on-screen text is really subtitles of what’s being said, skip the screenshots. A transcript gets every line at once instead of one frame at a time.

Common questions

Can you copy text from an Instagram video directly in the app?

Not the spoken words or the on-screen text. Instagram has no option for either. Captions can sometimes be copied by long-pressing, depending on your device. For spoken words, paste the video link into an Instagram transcript generator. For on-screen text, use Live Text or Google Lens on a screenshot.

Does this work for Reels as well as regular videos?

Yes. Every method here works the same way for Reels, video posts and IGTV. Transcription needs the video to be public.

Can I copy text from an Instagram Story?

Captions and on-screen text, yes: pause the Story by holding your finger on it, screenshot it, and use Live Text or Google Lens. Spoken words in Stories can’t be transcribed from a link. If you have the video file, you can upload it instead on the Plus or Pro plan.

Is copying text from Instagram videos free?

The screenshot methods are free and built into your phone. Transcribing the spoken words is free for your first video with no signup, then 3 a month with a free account.

Why is the copied text a bit wrong?

Live Text and Lens can misread stylized fonts, text over busy backgrounds or words that were moving when you paused. AI transcription can slip on loud music or overlapping voices. Either way, give the text a quick read before you use it.

Get the text you actually need

Captions are copyable with a little effort, and on-screen text is a screenshot away. The spoken words are the part Instagram locks up. Paste the link into the Instagram video to text converter and you’ll have the full transcript, ready to copy, download or translate.