How to Copy and Paste on Your iPhone or iPad: Easy Guide

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Quick ways to select, copy, and paste text or pictures on iOS

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Rain Kengly

Last Updated: September 9, 2024 Fact Checked

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Using Touch

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Using the Photos App

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Using Handoff

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Expert Q&A

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Tips

When text or an image is selected on iOS, you can use touch controls to copy and paste it to a new location. You can also use the Handoff feature to move the copied content between Apple devices. Here's how to copy and paste on your iPhone or iPad.

Things You Should Know

Select the text and tap the selection. Tap "Copy", and then tap a new location. Tap "Paste".
Select a photo from the Photos app. Tap the "Share" icon and tap "Copy Photo". Tap and hold the new location. Tap "Paste".
Enable the Handoff feature on two Apple devices to copy on one device and paste on another.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Touch

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1
Select the text or image you want to copy and paste. This can be text found in the Notes app, Messages app, a URL in a web browser, or another location with plain text.^{[1]
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- To select a word, double-tap it.
- To select a paragraph, triple-trap it.
- To select a block of text, double-tap the first word. Then, use the grab points to select the remaining text.
- To select an image, tap and hold it.
- When the text or image is selected, a pop-up menu will appear. If you don't see the menu, tap the text.
2
Tap Copy. This will be next to Cut. You can also use three fingers to make a pinch closed motion.
- Cut will also copy the selected text, but it will delete the text from its original location.
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3
Tap where you want to paste the text or image. This could be a text field in a new Facebook post, a new text message, or another location.
- If you're pasting into existing text, tap and hold to magnify the text. Then, drag the cursor to move the insertion point.
4
Tap Paste. The copied text or image will be pasted into the new location.
- The "Paste" option will not appear unless there's something stored in your device's clipboard from a "Copy" or "Cut" command.
- You can't paste into non-editable documents, like most web pages.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using the Photos App

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1
Open the Photos app. This looks like a multi-colored flower.
- If you don't see a grid of thumbnail pictures on your screen, tap Albums in the lower-right corner and tap an album to select it.
This will open it in full view.
3
Tap the "Share" button. It's a blue, rectangular icon that contains an upward-pointing arrow.
- On an iPhone, it's in the lower-left corner.
- On an iPad, it's in the upper-right corner.
You can find this underneath the row of suggested apps.
This could be in the Messages app, Mail app, Notes app, or another location.
The image will be pasted in the new location.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Handoff

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1
Enable Handoff on both devices. Handoff can be used to copy and paste content from one Apple device to another using the Universal Clipboard. Handoff will work with most apps, but not every app.
- To set up Handoff on your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings → General → Airplay & Handoff → toggle on Handoff.
- Make sure both devices are signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID and have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on.^{[2]
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This can be text found in the Notes app, Messages app, a URL in a web browser, or another location with plain text.
This will be next to Cut.
This could be a text field in a new Facebook post, a new text message, or another location.
The copied text or image will be pasted into the new location.

Expert Q&A

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Question

How do I copy and paste a website link?

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Luigi Oppido

Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Answer

Go up to the top of a website and click once on the website link in the address bar. When you click on it once, most browsers will highlight the whole long. Once you have the entire URL highlighted, click copy on the toolbar.

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Question

How can I forward a website address sent to me in Messages?

Community Answer

Tap and hold on the address and a you'll see a pop up saying "copy". Tap "copy" and then tap on an empty space and hold and a sign will come up saying "paste". Tap that and whatever you copied will appear.

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Question

How do you change text size?

Community Answer

Open tabs in this order: Settings>General>Accessibility>Larger Text. There should be a slider that allows you to adjust the size to your preference.

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Tips

Try to avoid copying both text and images together. If you paste an image into a text field, it may paste the code for the image instead of the image itself. Use the grab points on highlighted areas to avoid images.

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Not all websites allow you to copy the text or images shown. In this case, you can try to take a screenshot.

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