Google is testing a feature that lets you paste without copying first
Users would no longer need to highlight text as the browser would automatically pick up useful text on pages.
Google is working on a new Chrome feature that can guess which parts of a webpage you may want to copy and save for later.
Google is already testing the tool, which would remove the need to highlight and copy text on a page – for example an address for use in getting directions – by identifying the useful text on a page and automatically saving it to your clipboard.
This would then be ready to grab when you need it, essentially creating a copyless paste.
The code to use the tool already exists, and is being tested in Chrome Dev – an Android app that enables users to try out early experimental features in Chrome.
The future potential of such a tool could be interesting for Chrome users. Could it be possible in the future to find music in Google Play after you’ve looked at an artist’s tour dates for example? Or drop product names into Amazon or eBay after you’ve looked a product’s website?
The notes on the feature also state that data saved to the clipboard is stored locally and not sent to external servers – so privacy issues shouldn’t be a worry for anyone concerned sensitive information about their web history is being saved by Google.
