Google Messages Rolls Out New Menu With Precise Text Copying on 20260917_03 Beta

Q: What other hidden workflow changes are quietly rolling out alongside the new swipe interface?

Alongside the new swipe gestures, Google Messages appears to be quietly reshaping several other everyday workflows in the same rollout wave. The biggest parallel change is a new long-press action menu that replaces the old top toolbar. Instead of surfacing only a few actions at the top and hiding others in overflow, long-pressing now opens a floating menu with Reply, Forward, Copy, Star, Delete, Select more, and Info. Sent messages can also show Edit, while photos may add Remix and Save. The background blurs when this menu appears, and Google has added haptic and animation cues to make selection more obvious. Another notable workflow change is more precise text copying. Users no longer have to copy an entire message by default; in the new menu, they can press and drag to highlight only part of a message. That is a meaningful shift for quoting, sharing, or saving snippets. Google is also redistributing where message metadata lives. Timestamps and RCS encryption status are moving into swipe actions, while read receipts remain available on tap and fuller delivery or edit-history details sit under Info or the message details page. That means the app is separating quick-glance status from deeper message management. The uneven rollout suggests these changes are tied to server-side testing rather than a single app update. Reports show the redesign appearing in stable build 20260910_03_RC02, but not uniformly across all screens, threads, or accounts.

3 articles · Updated · Droid Life · Sep 25

Google Messages this week broadly enabled a redesigned long-press menu that surfaces reactions, message actions and a blurred conversation background on both beta and stable builds.
Long-pressing a text now lets users highlight and copy specific words instead of copying the entire message, while a slight right-to-left swipe reveals a Create button for quick sticker making.
The floating menu also keeps Reply, Forward, Copy, Star, Delete, Select more and Edit, and the Info view shows sent and delivered times plus encryption status.
Version 20260917_03 beta and 20260903_04 stable users are seeing the change, extending a broader Google Messages interface refresh that also recently added swipe gestures for timestamps and replies.