Windows 11 Updates Introduce Text Copying from Screenshots and Background Blur

Bradley Rhodes -

Microsoft has released updates for its Snipping Tool and Photo apps for Windows 11, introducing features like text copying from images and background blurring in photos. These updates are currently available to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels.

Microsoft’s Phone Link App for iOS Is Now Rolling out to All Windows 11 Users
iPhone owners can now sync their smartphones with the Phone Link app to make and receive calls, send and receive messages via iMessage, get notifications from their mobile devices, and view their phone contacts on their Windows 11 PC.
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In the beta version of the system, the toolbar of the Snipping Tool now includes a Text Actions button. This feature allows users to select and copy individual words or sentences from images and paste them elsewhere. For those who need to copy all the text from an image, there's also an option in the menu to "Copy all text."

Text Actions can also be used for editing screenshots, such as redacting sensitive information like email addresses or phone numbers. Users can simply select the "Quick Redact" option from the toolbar or right-click on text and choose "Redact Text" to hide it.

Windows 11 Preview Adds Biometric Login for Websites
To utilize this feature, users can visit websites that support password-less logins on Windows and create passkeys from their account settings. The passkeys can then be used to sign in to the respective accounts using Windows Hello.
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Additionally, the Photo app now offers a background blur feature. Users can open a photo in editing mode and select the Background Blur option, which automatically detects the object and blurs the area behind it. This feature is customizable, allowing users to adjust the intensity of the blur and edit already blurred areas.

Microsoft hasn't provided an exact timeline for when these new features will roll out to all users, but they are expected to become available over the next few months.