How to add text to a photo
Every phone and computer can do it, but the controls differ and the text is often hard to read on a busy picture. Here is each built-in way, and a private browser option.
On an iPhone
Open the photo in Photos, tap Edit, tap the Markup button, then tap the Add button and choose text. Tap Done when you are finished, then Done again to save. Apple documents this on its Markup help page, as of October 2026.
On Android with Google Photos
Open the photo in the Google Photos app and tap Edit, then Markup. Tap Text, type, and touch and hold the text box to drag it where you want it. Tap the checkmark, then Save as copy to keep the original. Google documents this on its Edit your photos page; on some phones you may need to tap Edit, Tools, then Markup.
On Windows with Paint
Open the picture in Paint, choose the Text tool (the T icon), click where the words should start and type. The toolbar changes the font, size and colour. Paint is a basic editor: there is no outline or shadow option, so white or black text can disappear on a busy background.
On a Mac with Preview
Open the image in Preview, show the Markup toolbar if it is hidden, click the Text button, type, and drag the text box into place. Apple warns that once you save an annotated image you cannot edit, move or delete the annotations, so keep a copy of the original or work on a duplicate.
In the browser, without uploading
The add text to image tool opens a live preview of your picture. Type a line of text, and an optional second line for a caption at the other end, then drag either one into place or use the Top, Middle, Bottom and Corner buttons.
- Look: five fonts (bold sans, a meme-style Impact face, serif, handwriting and typewriter), a colour picker with quick swatches, a size slider, an opacity slider and an ALL CAPS switch.
- Readability: outline, shadow or a solid box behind the words, or none. White text with an outline reads on almost any photo.
- Output: the same format as the original, or JPG, PNG or WebP, with a quality slider for the lossy ones. The text is drawn at the picture's full size, and the text size is a share of the picture, so it looks like the preview.
- Batches: drop several pictures and the same text goes in the same place on each. The preview shows the first.
Everything happens inside your browser tab, so the photos never leave your device. The text becomes part of the picture, so keep the original if you may want to change the words later.
One thing we checked on a test photo: a JPG that carried a camera model and a GPS position came out of the tool without them, because the picture is redrawn. Treat that as a side effect, not a promise. To clean a photo on purpose, use the EXIF remover.
Making text readable
Pick a colour that contrasts with the area behind the words, and add an outline or a box if the background is busy. Keep the text away from the edges, because social apps crop photos differently. If you want the same words repeated across a photo as a mark of ownership, use the watermark tool instead, or read how to add a watermark to a photo.
Questions
Can I add text to a photo without an app?
Yes. The add text to image tool runs in your browser on a phone or computer, so there is nothing to install, and the photo is not uploaded.
Can I edit the text after I save the picture?
Not in the saved picture: the words become part of the image. Keep your original, which is never changed, and run it again with new text.
Can I put the same caption on many photos?
Yes. Drop them all on the add text to image tool and the text is placed the same way on each one.
Does adding text make the picture smaller or blurrier?
The saved file is the same pixel size as the original. If the format is JPG or WebP it is saved again at the quality you choose (92 by default), and PNG output is lossless.