Two-factor authentication is great for keeping accounts secure. Copying the six-digit code from an email and pasting it somewhere else? Not exactly the highlight of the experience.

Gmail is now making that little chore faster.

The Gmail app is rolling out a new “Copy code” shortcut that lets you grab a verification code directly from your inbox without opening the email first. The feature is available on Android and iOS, giving mobile users a much quicker way to deal with those familiar login emails.

When Gmail detects a verification or authentication code in an email, it can display a pill-shaped “Copy code 000000” button beneath the subject line. It sits in the same general area Gmail uses for previews of attachments and other useful email actions.

Tap it, and the code is copied straight to the clipboard.

That means the old routine — open the email, find the code, select the numbers, copy them, switch back to the app or website, and paste — loses a few steps. You can simply tap the button and get on with the login.

And yes, this is exactly the kind of tiny feature that sounds almost too obvious once it exists.

According to 9to5Google, the shortcut has been seen working with verification emails from stores and banks, suggesting Gmail isn’t limiting it to a particular type of sender. The feature is currently appearing in Gmail for Android version 2026.09.07.x and Gmail for iOS version 6.0.260907.

There is one catch: Gmail’s web interface doesn’t have the shortcut right now. So if you’re sitting at your computer waiting for a verification email, you’ll still have to use the traditional copy-and-paste routine. The new shortcut is specifically showing up in the mobile apps.

It also isn’t quite the same as the automatic code suggestions you may already see with some SMS-based authentication flows. Gmail still requires you to open or interact with Gmail on your phone, but once the message is there, copying the code takes a single tap.

Google has been adding several changes to Gmail lately, including Live search and chat capabilities, so the new 2FA shortcut fits neatly into a broader effort to make common tasks inside the inbox require fewer taps.

For something as mundane as copying a six-digit code, that’s probably exactly the right approach. No grand AI announcement. No elaborate redesign. Just a button that says, essentially, “Here. Take the code and go.”

Honestly, Gmail, more of this please.