Google Messages Will Allow Users To Copy Only Selected Text

Google is working on a long-requested improvement to its Messages app: the ability to copy only part of a message instead of the entire text.

Currently, long-pressing a message in Google Messages and tapping Copy grabs the full message. There is no option to highlight and copy a specific portion. For longer texts, that means copying everything, pasting it elsewhere, and manually deleting unwanted content.

That behavior appears set to change.

What is changing inside Google Messages

In an upcoming update, long-pressing a message will bring up an interface that allows users to highlight specific text within the message.

Once highlighted, users will be able to copy only the selected portion.

If the Copy option is tapped directly from the long-press menu without selecting text, the app will continue copying the entire message as it does today.

The feature has been spotted in the latest Google Messages beta build. It looks like it's in early testing and is only available to select users, even on the beta channel.

Why this matters for users

Selective text copying is already standard behavior in most Google apps, including Gmail and Chrome. Messages have been an exception.

The limitation is especially noticeable when you work with long replies, addresses, instructions, or multi-part information. Copying everything and manually trimming the content adds unnecessary work.

For messages containing one-time passwords (OTPs), the app surfaces a dedicated Copy shortcut that extracts only the code. That shows the app can parse and isolate text elements when needed.

Other messaging platforms, including Telegram and iMessage, allow granular text selection. WhatsApp still copies the entire message by default, similar to the current Google Messages behavior.

What it means for you

There is no user-facing action to enable the feature at this time.

If you are on the Google Messages beta:

• Update to the latest available beta version.

• Long-press a message to check whether text highlighting is available.

Even on the beta channel, access is limited to select accounts.

For now, copying partial text still requires pasting the full message into another app and editing it manually.

Google has not announced a public update timeline. The feature remains in testing.

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