How to Link Directly to Text on a Web Page in Chrome

Google Chrome can create a shareable link that opens a web page at a specific passage and highlights the relevant text. You do not need the old Link to Text Fragment extension anymore: the feature is built into Chrome as Copy link to highlight. Google documents the current desktop workflow in its Chrome Help guide to linking to highlighted text.

How to link to specific text on a web page in Chrome

The desktop process is simple and works on ordinary selectable text, not just headings or sections with HTML anchor IDs.

1. Open the page in Chrome and select the text you want to share. Drag across a short, distinctive passage. A sentence or part of a sentence is usually enough.

2. Right-click the selected text. In Chrome's context menu, choose Copy link to highlight. If that command is unavailable, Google notes that the feature may not work for the selected content.

3. Paste the copied URL into an email, chat, document, or other place where you want to share it. The URL can be noticeably longer than the page's normal address because it includes the selected text.

4. Open the link to verify it. A supporting browser should load the page, scroll to the matching passage, and visually highlight it.
5. Share the tested link. If you want to clear the highlight after opening one of these links in Chrome, right-click the highlighted passage and choose Remove highlight.

What does Chrome add to the URL?

Chrome uses the web platform's Text Fragments feature. Instead of requiring the website owner to add an ID to a heading or paragraph, a text-fragment URL identifies words directly in the address. The recognizable part starts with #:~:text=.

For example, a link may resemble https://example.com/article#:~:text=selected%20words. Browsers encode spaces and some other characters so the text can safely appear in a URL. The full syntax can also include surrounding words to distinguish between repeated matches. The MDN Text Fragments reference explains the syntax and behavior in detail.

You normally should not build this syntax by hand. Chrome's context-menu command creates the link for you and can add enough context to identify the intended passage.

Does the recipient need Chrome?

Not necessarily. Text Fragments are now a broadly available web feature in current browser versions. MDN lists the related Fragment Directive capability as part of Baseline 2025, meaning support is available across the latest major browser engines. Older or unsupported browsers may ignore the text directive and simply open the page without scrolling to or highlighting the passage.

This is an important change from older guidance that described the feature as Chromium-only. The safest approach is still to test an important link before sending it, especially if the recipient may be using an older browser.

Why a text link can stop working

A text-fragment link depends on the target words still existing on the page. If an article is edited and the matching text changes or disappears, the browser may no longer find the fragment and can fall back to opening the page normally. That makes text links excellent for pointing someone to a passage right now, but less durable than a stable section anchor for long-term references.

• Select a concise, distinctive phrase. Avoid grabbing several paragraphs when one sentence identifies the location clearly.
• Use visible page text. Text inside some embedded frames or interactive editors may not be eligible for this feature.
• Test after copying. Open the link in a new tab and confirm that it reaches the intended passage.
• Expect dynamic pages to change. News feeds, live pages, and frequently edited documents can invalidate the match later.

How to create highlighted-text links on mobile Chrome

Chrome also supports this feature on mobile, but the controls differ. On Android, Google's current instructions are to select the text, tap Share, and then choose the app where you want to send the highlighted link. On iPhone and iPad, select the text and tap Create link; you may need to tap the selected text again to reveal that option. See Google's official Android instructions and iPhone and iPad instructions for the current mobile steps.

For desktop Chrome, the key action is simply: select the passage, right-click it, and choose Copy link to highlight. It is faster and more precise than telling someone to search through a long page manually.