In June last year, Google launched a Chrome extension that allowed users to link to a specific portion of text on a webpage, instead of the page itself. The portion you selected for creating a link will appear highlighted in color when someone opens the link. I’ve been using the extension ever since it was released, but now is the time to bid it goodbye. No, it is not going anywhere, at least for now. Google has just baked the functionality directly into Chrome browser, saving the hassle of using an extension.

As per an official blog post from last week, the ability to create a link for a specific portion of text on a webpage arrived with the Chrome v90 update. The feature is currently rolling out on Chrome for desktop and its Android version. Additionally, it will soon be making its way to the iOS build of Chrome as well. Here’s how it looks:

Chrome copy link to highlight

How to use the new Chrome trick?

The process of generating a link to a specific word or portion of text on a webpage is quite easy. Just select the text, perform a right-click on it, and tap on the ‘Copy Link to Highlight’ option that appears in the dropdown menu. The generated URL contains the hash (‘#’) symbol after the main URL, followed by some identifying code. You can now share that link with anyone via the communication platform of your preference. When someone taps and opens the link, they will directly be taken to the portion of text you want them to see, and for easy identification, it will appear highlighted.

chrome flag enabled

To use the nifty new Chrome feature, go ahead and update your browser to v90. However, if you don’t see the option after updating, you can enable it manually via a Chrome flag. Just type chrome://flags/#copy-link-to-text in the URL bar of Chrome browser. Scroll down to find the ‘Copy Link to Highlight’ option and select Enable from the drop-down menu adjacent to it. Once you’ve done that, relaunch the browser to see the change in effect. Now, when you select a portion of text on a webpage and then perform a right-click, you’ll see the ‘Copy Link to Highlight’ option in the menu.