iOS 26 gave screenshots a hidden power I’ve started using a lot

Source: 9to5Mac

iOS 26 brings visual intelligence to screenshots, enabling several new features. One of them solves the common problem of plain‑text URLs you can’t easily tap to open.

iOS 26 can turn plain text URLs into tappable links via screenshots

Have you ever encountered a URL online that you wanted to open, but it’s in plain text with no easy way to copy/paste?

For many users, this commonly happens when browsing Instagram. Since the social network doesn’t allow hyperlinks in captions or replies, you’ll typically see one of two things:

• “Link in profile”
• A plain‑text URL that’s inconvenient to use

The latter has become less common in recent years, but it still appears regularly.

In iOS 26, Apple added a convenient solution. Take a screenshot, and thanks to the new visual‑intelligence AI feature, your iPhone will provide a hyperlinked version of the URL that you can open with a single tap.

iOS 26 uses AI to detect the URL in your screenshot, then displays a tappable link at the bottom of the screen for your convenience.

To benefit from this feature, you need an AI‑compatible iPhone such as an iPhone 17, iPhone 16, or iPhone 15 Pro model.

By default, screenshots in iOS 26 open directly to the fullscreen UI where you’ll see the link at the bottom. If you’ve opted to revert to the iOS 18 behavior—where screenshots appear only as a small thumbnail in the bottom‑left corner—you’ll need to tap that thumbnail first to load the fullscreen view.

Did you know this screenshot feature existed in iOS 26? How has it been working for you? Let us know in the comments.