Snapchat is fun, and adding captions and text can make it even more enjoyable. Sending snaps is way more rewarding when they really get your message across — at least until you change your mind.
When it's time for a new pace, you'll need to remove your Snapchat captions and text. The only problem is that the app doesn't always make that task easy. Here's why and how to work around Snapchat's built-in limitations.
Is there a way to remove Snapchat captions?
Snapchat captions are text-based messages or descriptions that users can add to their photos and videos before sharing them as snaps.
Text and captions do a lot. They can provide context, convey messages more clearly, make snaps more accessible to the visually impaired and hard of hearing, or simply add a creative or humorous touch to the visuals. You also can customize the font, color, and positioning of the caption text on your snaps while they’re in editing mode.
As a native feature, adding text is designed to be simple. But you can't say the same for removing it.
The problem has to do with how the app works. Snapchat snaps can be sent to specific recipients or added to your Stories, where they remain visible to a wider audience for 24 hours. But unlike other messaging apps, most snaps disappear after being viewed. This means that if you haven't saved them to your Memories, you'll lose the ability to edit and remove text.
In other words, if you're dealing with a saved snap from someone else, you'll need to use a separate removal app. This is the only way to eliminate existing text since viewed snaps are saved as flat images or videos.
How do you remove text from a snap on Snapchat?
Snapchat offers two in-app possibilities for removing text and captions from your snap:
- You can remove text from the snap you're currently working on.
- You can remove text from an old snap, but only if the snap is saved in your Memories and was created on the device you're currently using. Snaps in the camera roll can't be edited.
If you're working on a previous snap, open your Memories and tap the SNAPS label to see your snaps laid out. Then, tap and hold the snap to open it. Choose the option labeled "Edit photo" that appears.
From here, the procedure is the same for both options. Tap the caption or text you want to get rid of. Once you're in editing mode, just delete the text using your device's keyboard.
How do I remove captions from Snapchat photos?
If you've got a photo in your camera roll, you can't remove the text inside Snapchat itself. Sorry, but the good news is that there are alternatives.
With all of the remaining methods in this article, you'll be working with snaps outside of the Snapchat app. To do this, you'll first have to export the snaps you want to edit.
After tapping on a snap, hold it until the menu pops up. You'll see an item labeled "Export Snap." Tap this, and you'll get a new popup asking whether you want to export to the camera roll or to another app.
In this case, pick the option for exporting to other apps. Now, use your mobile device's dialog to save the snap somewhere. If you're editing on another device, like your computer or laptop, you can send it there via Bluetooth or a file share at this time.
Ways to Remove Snapchat Captions in Photoshop:
Begin by opening your exported Snapchat snap in Photoshop.
Next, select the caption area:
- If the text has a rectangular border, you might as well use the rectangular marquee tool.
- If the text is composed of letters overlaid on the image without an additional border, try using the magic wand tool. Change the selection mode to "Add to selection" and click each letter in turn to select them all. You may have to adjust the sensitivity.
- Don't worry if you have a hard time selecting everything because you can do this job in sections.
Once you've selected your text, you can remove it by:
- Opening the interactive dialog of the Content-Aware Fill tool to tweak the settings of an AI algorithm: Content-aware fill uses machine learning to guess how the image would appear if it were caption-free. You can adjust settings like pixel sampling, the area to replace, and where the result will be output. This method is the simplest from an effort perspective, but it gives you less fine control.
- Using the Fill or Brush tool to blend the caption seamlessly with the surrounding colors: Select an appropriate color to match your image. Fill in the selection areas or paint them in using even brushstrokes — being as regular as possible can help you avoid leaving traces or weird artifacts. The fill tool also has a content-aware feature that you can use with Color Adaptation enabled for automatic results.
- Utilizing the Patch tool to replace the selected caption area with pixels from another part of the image: This method basically involves choosing which pixels to copy to the caption area, thus covering the text. You should also adjust the tool's brush size as needed — with a smaller brush, you'll be able to copy and paste finer details.
As an alternative to these methods, you can use Photoshop's crop tool. This will eliminate a chunk of the image, however, so it's really only good for snaps that have text near the edges.
How to Effectively Cut Text from Snapchat Snaps Using ImageWith.ai's Web-based Clearoff
Using Photoshop to remove text has its drawbacks. Although it's highly effective, it takes time. Some of the tools involved also have a steep learning curve to overcome.
Even though Photoshop's most recent AI upgrades can help remedy this problem, they still require a quality graphics card, which requires an investment. Photo-editing apps are also potentially overkill. For instance, you might just want a quicker alternative or not feel like paying for the monthly subscription.
ImageWith.ai pretty much solves all those problems in one go. It works in your browser, offloading the heavy lifting to servers in the cloud, so you can set up a job without worrying about how long it'll take or whether you'll be able to do other things while it's processing. This means ImageWith.ai even works seamlessly on mobile devices.
ImageWith.ai includes a few different photo-editing features, like upscaling and background removal tools. To remove text from a snap, we'll use the Clearoff function.
Once you've loaded the page in your browser, add your exported snap. You can open it using the upload button or drag and drop the file from your computer.
Clearoff includes Tap and Draw modes. Draw mode lets you paint your selection around the text you'd like to eliminate, while Tap mode tries to identify it based on where you tap — so you can just click on the caption. You can select your preferred mode and paintbrush settings at the bottom of the interface.
As we pointed out earlier, many captions include borders, outlines, or other features that set the text apart from the surrounding image. Draw mode may be better for these images because you can specify the entire area you'd like to remove instead of the AI thinking it should leave the text background in place and just erase the lettering.
Draw mode might also be helpful for captions with a lot of spacing between the letters or words. AI tools don't always pick up on the fact that text should go together if it's spread out. Although you can apply the Clearoff Tap mode tool multiple times to get everything, using the Draw brush might be quicker.
Clearoff's web interface copies your photo to the cloud to work its magic. Even though this means you're not really in danger of erasing your original image until you download the new version, you can still step backward in time if you don't like your results — or want to see how they compare. Click Revert to restart from square one, or tap and hold the eyeball button to view the original.
Conclusion
Text and captions can make for awesome Snapchat snaps. They aren't quite as appealing when you want to use your images elsewhere, however, and they definitely don’t look very professional!
When you want to remove text from one of your own snaps, editing it directly is the best bet. But if you want to clean up something you received from another user, you should try ImageWith.ai before sinking hours of your life into a Photoshop project!
Out of all the external photo editing apps out there, Clearoff is the simplest, most cost-effective option. Give it a shot today, and have more fun with your snaps!
