Allow selecting and copying partial answer text
Category: Feature request Priority: P1 Area: UI (answer rendering / text selection) Reports: 10 threads Status: Open
Summary
Ten distinct users across iOS, Android, and web report that AI answer text cannot be selected at all — the only option is copying the entire answer via the icon below it, and on iPhone the native Select / Select All / Copy / Cut menu never appears. They ask for ChatGPT-style free text selection so they can copy just a sentence, a line, or a paragraph. The requests come from students of knowledge who want to save or share excerpts, and one user (mahmood muslem) additionally asks for exporting a full or partial conversation to Word or PDF with Arabic formatting, headings, and citations preserved. Abdellatif has told several users that partial text copying is actively in progress ("نعمل حاليا على إتاحة إمكانية نسخ أجزاء محددة من النص") and will ship in an upcoming update — this is the single most-repeated UI request in the inbox.
What users say
Abdullah ibn Abih (عبدالله ابن أبيه) — otaif.2000@gmail.com
- Date: 2026-08-19 · Language: Arabic · Thread:
1a019ffd2d4d9af3· Replied: yes - Asks to enable copying just the text the user wants, since currently only whole-answer copy exists via the icon under the answer. Abdellatif replied that partial copy is in progress for an upcoming update; user reacted with a thumbs-up.
الرجاء إتاحة نسخ النص الذي يريد المشترك. لأنه لا يوجد لديكم إلا النسخ كاملا من خلالة الأيقونة أسفل الإجابة فقط.
Please make it possible to copy the text the user wants — you only offer copying the whole thing via the icon below the answer.
Abdulhakim Moslih — abdulhakimmoslih@gmail.com
- Date: 2026-08-18 · Language: Farsi · Thread:
1a01619def1ae51e· Replied: yes - Praises the app, then asks that answers be selectable so any piece of text can be copied from anywhere on screen, as in ChatGPT and other AI apps. (Same email also reports a Farsi glyph-rendering issue.) Abdellatif replied both are being worked on.
وقتی ... از طرف هوش مصنوعی جوابی را میگیریم باید در روی صفحه از هر نقطهای متن کپی گرفته شود اما این در چت جی پی تی در دیگر مدلهای هوش مصنوعی موجود است یعنی از هر جایی میتوانیم هر قطعه متن را کاپی کنیم
When we get an answer from the AI, it should be possible to copy text from any point on the screen — this exists in ChatGPT and other AI models, i.e. we can copy any piece of text from anywhere.
Raz Naif — raznaif1131@gmail.com
- Date: 2026-08-17 · Language: Arabic · Thread:
1a010aa8cbae1ab8· Replied: yes - Notes it is impossible to copy each paragraph of an answer on its own (the same email also requests read-aloud for hadiths/hard words — see the voice-answers-tts issue). Abdellatif promised both per-paragraph copy and TTS.
وايضا لاحظت عدم القدره على نسخ كل فقره لوحدها
I also noticed the inability to copy each paragraph on its own.
Yusuf Mazouz (يوسف مزوز) — yusufmazouz1986@gmail.com
- Date: 2026-08-18 · Language: Arabic · Thread:
1a013bd85e7dc064· Replied: yes - One-line request to allow copying from the app. Abdellatif replied partial-copy is being enabled and will be available soon.
الرجاء السماح بالنسخ من التطبيق
Please allow copying from the app.
Abdulrahman (عبدالرحمن) — albraq2025@gmail.com
- Date: 2026-08-17 · Language: Arabic · Thread:
1a013dc1e80ac58f· Replied: yes - A student of knowledge praises the app's impact on his studying and asks for text selection in chat replies so students can save or share information with classmates. Abdellatif replied the feature will be in the next update.
لاحظت أنه عند وجود ردود في الدردشة، لا يمكننا تحديد النص لتسهيل نسخه، وهذا الأمر قد يمثل بعض الصعوبة في حال رغبنا في الاحتفاظ بمعلومات معينة أو مشاركتها مع زملائنا.
I noticed that when there are replies in the chat, we cannot select the text to make copying it easier — which is difficult when we want to keep certain information or share it with our classmates.
mahmood muslem — m.abuafaf@gmail.com
- Date: 2026-08-13 (follow-up 2026-08-17) · Language: Arabic · Thread:
19ff871d0f8c8239· Replied: yes (twice) - Bundled suggestion list: (1) select/copy message text and export full or partial conversations to Word/PDF preserving Arabic formatting, headings and citations; (2) font size control — in his follow-up he specifies a three-level setting (small / medium / large), saying the current size is large for him but may be small for weak-sighted users; (3) cite heritage (classical) quotations with the book volume, page, and publisher so sources are easy to look up; also suggested Islamic image generation and translating important English texts/books. Abdellatif committed to the export feature, the 3-level font setting, and volume/page/publisher citation metadata.
إضافة إمكانية تحديد نص الرسائل ونسخه، وتصدير المحادثة كاملة أو جزء منها في ملف Word أو PDF، مع المحافظة على تنسيق العربية والعناوين والاستشهادات.
Add the ability to select and copy message text, and to export the whole conversation or part of it to a Word or PDF file, while preserving Arabic formatting, headings, and citations.
Follow-up on fonts and citations:
اقترح جعل خيار ضبط الخط ٣ مستويات (صغير، متوسط، كبير) ... أعني يكون النص الذي ينقله المحرك موثقا بجزء الكتاب إن كان الكتاب من عدة أجزاء والصفحة واسم الجهة التي طبعت الكتاب
I suggest making the font adjustment option 3 levels (small, medium, large) ... I mean the text the engine quotes should be documented with the book's volume (if multi-volume), the page, and the name of the publisher.
Abu Muhammad (أبو محمد) — hdhd14331433@gmail.com
- Date: 2026-08-16 · Language: Arabic · Thread:
1a00c1c8d8c018ca· Replied: yes - Cannot copy part of the text — must copy everything when he only needs one or two lines. In follow-ups he praises the app enthusiastically ("ممتاز جدا"), says he discovered it via a TikTok ad and shared it with over 3,000 WhatsApp contacts, and asks for more trusted sources (IslamQA, IslamWeb, Ibn Baz, Ibn Uthaymeen, Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Albani — tracked in the expand-source-library issue). Abdellatif: "نعمل على الخاصية الآن" (we're working on the feature now).
عندما ابحث في تطبيقات لا يمكنني نسخ جزء من الكلام لابد ان انسخ الكلام كله وانا لا احتاج كله وانما احتاج الى سطر او سطرين فقط فارجو تفعيل امكانيه نسخ جزئي لبعض النص
When I search in the app I cannot copy part of the text; I have to copy all of it, though I don't need it all — only one or two lines. Please enable partial copying of some text.
(Anonymous iCloud user) — scope-meekest-5h@icloud.com
- Date: 2026-08-15 · Language: English · Thread:
1a00653b0303fde4· Replied: yes - After a few days of use, asks whether the inability to copy generated answer text is by design. Abdellatif confirmed it is not — the feature simply hasn't been built yet and will be added.
When text is generated as a response back to the user, I've noticed clicking the text does not allow for copying text at all, is that by design?
Semi Mujko — semimujko07@gmail.com
- Date: 2026-08-06 · Language: English · Thread:
19fd7af3e3bb2391· Replied: yes - Loves the app; asks to select specific sentences from the AI's answer instead of copying the whole thing.
can you please add the ability to selecet specific sentences from the answer that the AI gives so we can copy abd use it because i dont want to copy the whole answer.
Ala Din — alauddin@me.com
- Date: 2026-08-07 · Language: English · Thread:
19fdcdf7827d8a99· Replied: yes - On iPhone, tried to copy Qaf's answers to compare with ChatGPT but the standard iOS text menu never appeared. Abdellatif confirmed select + copy/paste hasn't been added yet. (Same email also compares tafsir answer depth with ChatGPT and reports a follow-up question that got no response.)
I was unable to copy text from Qaf. The usual iPhone options—such as Select, Select All, Copy, and Cut—did not appear. In contrast, ChatGPT allows users to easily select and copy text.
Details / repro
- iOS: long-press on answer text does not produce the Select / Select All / Copy / Cut menu (alauddin@me.com, iPhone).
- All platforms: tapping/clicking generated answer text does nothing; only the copy icon below the answer works, and it copies the entire answer.
- Per-paragraph copy is also impossible (raznaif1131).
- Users consistently cite ChatGPT's free-selection behavior as the expected baseline.
Threads
1a019ffd2d4d9af3— copy selected text, not only full answer (Arabic)1a01619def1ae51e— ChatGPT-style copy from anywhere on screen (Farsi)1a010aa8cbae1ab8— per-paragraph copy (+ read-aloud request)1a013bd85e7dc064— allow copying from the app (one-liner)1a013dc1e80ac58f— student asks for text selection in chat replies19ff871d0f8c8239— select/copy + Word/PDF export, font sizes, citation volume/page1a00c1c8d8c018ca— partial copy of one or two lines (super-promoter user)1a00653b0303fde4— "is no-copy by design?" (English, iCloud user)19fd7af3e3bb2391— select specific sentences (English)19fdcdf7827d8a99— iOS selection menu never appears (English)