How to Copy and Paste on an Android Device

Copying and pasting is one of the most basic tasks you can do on your Android device. It allows you to move text, images, contacts, or any other content from one place to another.
Whether you’re copying an important paragraph from a website to your Notes app or pasting a URL into your browser, knowing how to copy and paste can save you a lot of time. Here’s how to copy and paste on your Android device.
How to Copy and Paste Text on Your Android Device
Copying and pasting text on Android is as easy as on any other operating system. To do this, simply select the text you want to copy, go to the target location, press and hold the text field, and then select Paste. If this was too brief and quick for you, here’s a detailed instruction to copy and paste text on Android.
- Access the text you want to copy. For instance, if you want to copy a few words from a text message, open that message on your messaging app.
- Press and hold any word of the message to activate the selection tool. Then, drag the set of bounding handles to highlight the text you want to copy.
- Tap Copy from the menu that appears. If you want to copy the entire text, simply double-tap on any word and choose Select All from the menu that appears.
- Now, go to the location where you want to paste the copied text (such as another message, or even a different app).
- Press and hold the area where the text can be entered and tap Paste from the pop-up menu.
That’s it! You’ve successfully copied and pasted text on your Android device.
How to Copy and Paste Web URLs on Your Android Device
While browsing the internet, you might find websites that you want to share with your friends. To do this, you can copy and paste the website’s address into your friend’s inbox and then send it. Follow the below steps to copy and paste web URLs on your Android device.
- Go to the website you want to share.
- Press and hold the URL in the address bar of your browser and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.
- Then, open the inbox in the messaging app you want to use to share the URL. Press and hold the text field and select Paste.
- Finally, tap the Send button to send the URL.


You can copy web addresses in other ways, too. For example, you can copy and paste a URL from a document into your web browser’s address bar to open the page.
How to Copy and Paste Images on Your Android Device
Copying and pasting images on Android is not as straightforward as text or web URLs. In fact, this feature is only available in a few apps. It works best in web browsers like Google Chrome.
Here’s how to copy and paste an image on your Android device:
- Open your browser and find the image you want to copy.
- Long-press the image and select Copy image from the menu.
- Now, go to the app where you want to paste the image, long-press the text field, and select Paste.


This usually works best in messaging apps like Instagram. For instance, if you want to send the image to your friend on Instagram, open your friend’s inbox, and paste it there.
It’s worth noting that copying and pasting images on Android is still a developing feature. If you’re having trouble copying or pasting images, you can try downloading the image and then sharing it instead.
Quickly Copy and Paste Content on Android
Copy and paste is a powerful feature everyone should know how to use. It can save you a lot of time and effort, especially when you want to share a long article or copy and paste images and web URLs.