How to Copy Text From Any Screen on Android (Even When It Won't Select)
An address in a chat bubble that will not highlight, a code in an app that blocks selection, a caption under a photo: Android shows the text, but the app decides whether you can copy it. Several tools get around that, and one of them is a single press away.
Shagun Verma · · 2 min readWhy some text cannot be selected
Apps control their own text. Some render it as part of an image, some disable selection on purpose, and some only allow copying through their own share button. The text is still on your screen, which is why tools that read the screen can copy it even when the app will not.
Built-in ways that sometimes work
- Recents text selection: on Pixels and some other phones, open the Recents view and long-press text inside the app preview to select and copy it.
- Google Lens on a screenshot: take a screenshot, open it in Google Photos, tap Lens and then the text. Reliable, but five steps every time.
- Circle to Search: on newer Pixels and Samsung phones, hold the navigation bar and select the text. Not available on many phones.
Copy everything on screen with one press
Long Press Menu has a Copy Text action. When you hold the power button, Android hands the menu the text that is visible on your screen, and one tap puts all of it on your clipboard. It works in any app that lets Android read its screen, including ones that block selection, and nothing is sent anywhere.
- Set Long Press Menu as your assistant app (the app walks you through it).
- In Android's assistant settings, turn on Use text from screen. On a Pixel: Settings > Apps > Default apps > Digital assistant app > the gear icon.
- On the screen with the text, hold the power button and tap Copy Text.
- Paste it anywhere.
The text is only read at the moment you tap the button and is kept in memory just while the menu is open. Password fields are skipped, and secure screens such as banking apps share nothing, by Android's design.
Tips
- Scroll so that only the part you need is visible; the copy takes what is on screen.
- For text inside a photo or a video frame, use the menu's Search Image action instead and let Lens read it. See search anything on your screen.
- Clipboard history on Gboard keeps the last few copies if you grab several pieces in a row.
Frequently asked questions
Does Copy Text work in every app?
It works wherever Android allows the assistant to read the screen. Apps that mark their screens as secure, like banking apps, share nothing.
Is the copied text uploaded anywhere?
No. The text goes from the screen to your clipboard on the device, and the app has no servers.
Can it copy text from an image?
Copy Text reads real text. For text inside an image, use Search Image to pass a screenshot to Google Lens, which can recognise it.