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How to move the cursor on an iPhone or Android keyboard

On iPhone, press and hold the spacebar and slide your finger. The keyboard turns into a trackpad. On Android with Gboard, swipe left or right along the spacebar.

How to do it

  1. iPhone: press and hold the spacebar until the letters go blank, then slide your finger. The keyboard is now a trackpad.

  2. Still holding, tap a second finger on the keyboard to start selecting text.

  3. Android with Gboard: swipe left or right along the spacebar to nudge the cursor one character at a time.

I lost years of my life tapping on a typo, landing one letter off, and tapping again. Then someone showed me this and I felt a bit silly.

On iPhone the whole keyboard turns grey once you hold the spacebar, and you can glide the cursor anywhere in the text, including up and down lines. On Android with Gboard it's a swipe on the spacebar instead of a hold. Samsung's own keyboard does the same swipe.

If it doesn't work on Gboard, check Settings > Gboard > Glide typing and make sure 'Enable gesture cursor control' is on.

Questions people ask

Does the spacebar trick work on every iPhone?

It has been there since iOS 12, so any iPhone running a current iOS has it.

Why doesn't the spacebar swipe work in Gboard?

Open Settings > Gboard > Glide typing and turn on Enable gesture cursor control. With that off, swiping on the spacebar does nothing.

Can I select text this way on iPhone?

Yes. While you hold the spacebar, tap the keyboard with a second finger, then keep sliding to select.

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