TextGrab

macOS protects what's on your screen with the Screen Recording permission. TextGrab uses it only to read the region you select.

On first launch, choose Request Access, turn TextGrab on in System Settings, then quit and reopen TextGrab if macOS asks you to. Settings → Privacy in TextGrab shows whether access is granted, and opens the right place in System Settings.

TextGrab lives in the menu bar. Use its menu bar icon, or a shortcut, to capture, open your capture library, or change settings. It shows in the Dock only while its History or Settings window is open.

You can change any of them in TextGrab's Settings.

Text, QR codes and barcodes in any region of your screen, in images and PDFs you choose, in an image or PDF on the clipboard, and in photos taken with a nearby iPhone or iPad through Continuity Camera.

No. Screen regions, imported files, clipboard images and PDFs, and Continuity Camera photos are read in memory and then let go. History keeps the recognised text and a few details about each capture, never the picture.

In the capture library, delete single captures, or choose Clear History to remove them all; that also empties the Additive Clipboard. To empty only the Additive Clipboard, use Clear Additive Clipboard in Settings or the menu.

To keep a copy, save a single capture with Save Text As, or export all of your history as a CSV file from the History toolbar or Settings → Privacy.

No. And Launch at Login is off until you turn it on, during setup or in Settings.

Yes. Recognition runs on your Mac with Apple Vision. Translation and speech use macOS itself, which may need to download a language or voice the first time you use it.