Summary
- Gboard is finally getting an undo button to restore deleted text, similar to the Cmd/Ctrl+Z shortcut on computers.
- Google first tested the feature in mid-2023 with a small set of users and wasn’t released publicly.
- The feature is showing up for more people in beta version 14.9.06.x, though it will take some time to reach everyone.
Our phone keyboards already have a bunch of smart ways to autocorrect grammar and spelling errors to enable fast typing. However, there are little to no tools to restore text you’ve accidentally deleted. Physical keyboards on computers have long had the Cmd/Ctrl+Z shortcut to undo such slip-ups, but that hasn’t been the case even with the best Android phones. That’s changing now as Gboard is finally getting the much-needed undo button.
Related
Google first started testing the button back in July 2023 with a small set of users. Android whizz Mishaal Rahman confirmed at the time that the undo button could restore at least three deleted paragraphs and even recover a fairly large chunk of text in case you removed the characters one at a time by repeatedly tapping the backspace key. It looked like a helpful tool that could save you from mistakenly deleting something important by holding down the delete key for just a second too long.
While that was limited testing, the undo button has now started appearing more widely in Gboard’s quick action menu, according to 9to5Google. When you tap the undo button, it will instantly negate your last action. You can then tap the undo or redo buttons to make further changes to your text. If you use the feature often, you can even pin the undo button to the top strip in Gboard for quicker access.
The way this feature works is that Gboard temporarily keeps the deleted text in memory so it can be restored if needed. While closing Gboard itself won’t erase this memory, closing the app will, and the text will be gone for good.
Source: 9to5Google
When will Gboard’s undo button reach you?
The outlet spotted the undo button in Gboard’s beta version 14.9.06.x. However, having this version installed doesn’t guarantee you’ll see the feature — for instance, we don’t have it yet. But it does indicate that Google is finally rolling out the feature more widely after its brief appearance a couple of years ago. It’s currently available to beta users, but this handy undo button shouldn’t take too long to reach everyone. Google is also giving Gboard a new autocorrect feature that helps you fix entire sentences in a single tap, which should make the keyboard app even more convenient for fast typing.
