This Google Pixel feature hidden in plain sight is its most handy tool

With so many Android updates and Pixel Drops, some Pixel UI features go unnoticed unless you’re actively looking for them. Turns out there’s a handy, hidden tool built into the Pixel UI in the app switcher window. Essentially, there’s a “Select” button you can press below an application that lets you divide interactive content into parts or sections based on the current window; you can then choose any selectable section and copy and paste it into another application, or even choose which parts to search on the web. Notably, this differs slightly from the built-in clipboard feature in Gboard (a default keyboard option on Pixel phones), which lets you copy anything, automatically save it to the clipboard, and then paste it into another app after opening the clipboard section from your keyboard – although you can certainly use the Pixel “Select” feature to copy components and store them in your Pixel keyboard’s clipboard.

Plus, it’s handy if you need a quick way to copy text to type in another app, like Google Maps, to open directions. For example, if you know someone’s location in Google Messages, you can use that to open your recent app screen, tap the “Select” button below it, copy the text message, then paste it somewhere else (like Google Maps), all without opening the app you just copied. In a way, this essentially gives you control over the content you want to take without having to crop a screenshot to handle sensitive information.

You can use the “Select” function in several convenient ways to save some time. First, you can use it to copy and paste text on the screen, or two, to share great photos you find in the app. When you open the app switcher, under the current app window, a “Select” option will appear next to the “Screenshot” option. Choosing “Select” converts application items into selectable items; Long press any highlighted item to open the context menu, showing options such as “Copy”, “Share” and “Search”.

Note that anything on this active app’s page will not be selectable, such as some icons that have been coded into the app itself. But anything that shows a slight visual highlight on this section is fair game. Another restriction is that this option will only select what is displayed in the application switcher window. For example, on a web page in the Chrome app, some parts of the page are missing because you have to scroll down to see them. The app switcher window can only show you what’s in the current view, which also means that only the displayed items can interact. If you need other selectable items from the same web page, you will need to switch to the Chrome app, scroll through some of them, then use the app switcher again with the “Select” option to highlight the new items displayed on the screen.