Tip
Three-Finger Gestures for Copy, Cut, and Paste
You can copy, cut, paste, undo, and redo without ever touching a menu — using just three-finger gestures.
The gestures
| Action | Gesture |
|---|---|
| Copy | Pinch in with three fingers |
| Cut | Pinch in with three fingers twice |
| Paste | Pinch out with three fingers |
| Undo | Swipe left with three fingers |
| Redo | Swipe right with three fingers |
Tips
- These work everywhere — Mail, Notes, Safari, Messages, third-party apps
- A small confirmation banner appears at the top of the screen when you perform the gesture
- Combine with double-tap to select a word or triple-tap to select a paragraph for fast text editing without menus
- If you find yourself triggering these accidentally, you can disable them in Settings → General → Keyboard → three-finger gestures (but they're worth learning!)
For more details, see Apple's guide on selecting and editing text.