Google Messages Tests Ability to Copy Only Part of a Text

Google Messages is finally addressing one of its most frustrating issues. The Mountain View giant is now testing a new feature that lets users copy only part of a text message rather than the entire thing. There’s no official word yet on the availability of the new feature to regular users, but it should hit the open beta channel in the coming weeks.

Google Messages will save you time thanks to partial text copying

Right now, Google Messages lets you copy a whole message by long-pressing it and tapping Copy. Of course, this works nicely for short texts, but it becomes annoying when it comes to the copy-specific section of a long message. For example, if you just want to copy an address from a long text, the only option is to copy everything and then manually delete the extra words.

Thankfully, Google appears to be now addressing that inconvenience. Folks over at Android Authority have managed to activate the ability to copy specific portions of a message in the latest beta build of Google Messages (version 20260212_01_RC00). This is a small but meaningful improvement that finally lets users select and copy only the text they need ( both SMS and RCS).

Now, when you long-press a message, you can drag your finger to the text to highlight a specific part. From the standard text selection menu, you can copy only the highlighted text. The existing Copy option is still present, so you can continue copying the entire message quickly.

As mentioned above, while the feature isn’t yet rolling out, its presence in the latest beta build suggests that Google is preparing for a wider rollout. We’ll let you know as soon as the company begins the rollout to the stable channel. Meanwhile, Google Messages is working on another useful feature that will allow you to edit Smart Reply (short, AI-based suggestion) before sending it.