New Google Chrome feature means no more emailing notes to yourself – here's how to use it

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Copy content on one device and paste it on another

Google Chrome
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A new feature for Google Chrome has arrived that makes it easier to switch between browsing on desktop and mobile devices. The shared clipboard is a new tool that allows you to copy content from a computer and then paste it on an Android phone or tablet.

This means there's no need to send yourself an emails, or load a note-taking app like Evernote for sharing short snippets of text like addresses between devices.

As Techdows notes, the feature is enabled by default in the Android version of Chrome, so it's just the desktop version you have to tinker with.

Enable clipboard sharing

The shared clipboard is currently only available in beta versions of Chrome for desktop, so start by installing Chrome Canary on your computer (it's available for Windows, Linux, macOS and Chrome OS).

Next, make sure you have Chrome installed on your Android phone, and ensure that you're logged into both browsers using the same Google account. Then follow these steps:

  1. Pay a visit to chrome://flags.
  2. Search for clipboard.
  3. Set 'Enable receiver device to handle shared clipboard feature' to 'Enabled'.
  4. Set 'Enable shared clipboard feature signals to be handled'  to 'Enabled'.
  5. Set 'Sync clipboard services' to 'Enabled'.
  6. Restart Chrome.

Now, highlight some text in the desktop version of Chrome, right click and select the 'Copy to [Android device]' option. The copied text will be sent to your phone – confirmed by a notification that pops up on your handset – ready for you to paste into Chrome there.

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Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson
Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson
Freelance writer

Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

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