Google Messages finally lets you copy part of a text
The new long-press menu adds partial text copying, light and dark themes and landscape support
Until now, Google Messages gave you one choice when you copied text: the whole message or nothing. The process starts with an updated long-press menu which, according to Google, has "officially launched".
Google referred to partial copying as "one of the most requested features". Long-press any message and launch the new action menu.
Then long-press the message text and drag the selection handles to select precisely what you want. The second menu will give you options like Copy, Translate, or Select All.
The menu substitutes the previous top toolbar, which displayed only three options, with the rest hidden in an overflow menu.
The updated floating menu contains Remix (for photos), Reply, Forward, Copy (for text), Star, Delete, Select More, Info, and Save (for photos). All options have icons for easier recognition.
Select the latest message in a thread, and it will be centred with an animated bounce and haptic feedback. There is also background blur while the menu is opened. The emoji menu and "Create" Photomoji shortcuts are kept the same as before.
According to Google, the menu offers “full support” for both the light and dark theme options. In addition, the menu is optimised for landscape mode, ensuring that it remains easily accessible.
The testing process started back in January, but 9to5Google was the first one to cover the menu redesign on 24 September. Google's official announcement took place on 30 September. The website received the latest update, build number 20260910_03_RC02, on 1 October.
It includes server-side changes, which means that it might take some time before you get it. If not, simply force-stop the application from the App Info menu.
